TER General Board
i learned how to eat sushi from a pale, white- skinned, red-headed jewish girl who was born and raised in hawaii. here are a few of the random things she taught me:
sushi isn't raw fish. it's the rice. she said "sushi" means "sticky rice" and refers to very short grained white rice boiled or steamed and then sort of "stir-infused" with rice wine vinegar. the rice is then shaped in the palm of the hand into a slightly-larger-than bite-sized piece and topped with vegetable, egg, raw or cooked fish, or roe, often tied down or wrapped with "nouri" (sheets of pressed seaweed).
you can eat sushi without going anywhere near raw fish. try a "california roll", sushi (rice) rolled around cucumber, cooked shrimp or crab, and avocado (and sometimes carrot). also, many rolls can be created with avocado, carrot, cucumber, sprout, cooked shrimp, crab, eel, herring, and other fish.
sushi can be "nigiri" (rice clump w/ topping) or various versions of a roll (nouri wrap, roe or fish outside rice, or "hand roll" (cone-shaped seaweed wrap around rice around various fish/vegetable/roe fillings)
"sashimi" is fish only, no rice. i think it's only raw, but i could be mistaken.
you never slice a piece of sushi, you put the whole thing in your mouth and mush it up with your molars to blend the flavors.
you never, ever, ever leave a piece of sushi on your plate. if nobody in your party can eat it, then hide it in a napkin and dispose of it far far away.
if you aren't sure how to use the chopsticks, ask. a waitperson will be delighted to help you. don't pick up the food with your hands and don't ask for a fork.
if you are a sushi "novice" but are willing to try, ask. your waitperson will suggest the most mild pieces to get you started.
don't get too addicted to good sushi unless you live in a city that makes it available to you - i'm over 100 miles from a sushi shack that can make me an ikura cup with a quail egg and it's killing me
So, it's perfectly fine to eat it with your fingers, if you like. This knowledge can come in handy after a few cups of sake. Use chopsticks for sashimi and everything else, though.