12/08 Eating Habits and Food Styles

Resource
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2005.html

Article
How to eat foods in Japan

Rice
Take the rice bowl into one hand and the chopsticks into the other and lift it towards your mouth while eating. Do not pour soya sauce over white, cooked rice.

Sushi
Pour some soya sauce into a the small plate provided. It is considered bad manner to waste soya sauce, so try not to pour more sauce into your plate than you are actually going to be using.
You do not need to add wasabi into your soya sauce, because the sushi pieces usually already contain wasabi, and some sushi pieces are supposed to be eaten without wasabi. If you choose to add wasabi, nonetheless, use only a small amount, in order not to offend the sushi chef. If you do not like wasabi, you can request that none is added into your sushi.
In general, you are supposed to eat a sushi piece in one bite. Attempts to separate a piece into two, most often end in the destruction of the beautifully prepared sushi. Hands or chopsticks can be used to eat sushi.
In case of nigiri-zushi, dip the piece into the soya sauce upside-down with the fish part ahead. A few kinds of nigiri-zushi, for example, marinated pieces, should not be dipped into soya sauce.
In case of gunkan-zushi, pour a small amount of soya sauce over it, rather than dipping it into the sauce.

Sashimi
Give some soya sauce into a small plate provided. Put some wasabi on the sashimi piece, but do not use too much wasabi as this would overpower the taste of the raw fish and possibly offend the chef. Use the sauce for dipping the sashimi pieces. Some types of sashimi are enjoyed with ground ginger rather than wasabi.

Miso Soup
Drink the soup out of the bowl as if it were a cup, and fish out the solid food pieces with your chopsticks.

Noodles
Lead the noodles with your chopsticks step by step into your mouth, while sucking them in with a controlled slurping sound. Try to copy the slurping sound of people around you.
In case of noodle soups, keep the distance between the bowl and your mouth small in order to avoid splashing. If a ceramic spoon is provided, use it to drink the soup, otherwise, lift the bowl to your mouth in order to drink the soup.

Kare Raisu (and other dishes in which the rice is mixed with a sauce)
Kare Raisu (Japanese style curry rice) and other rice dishes, in which the rice is mixed with a sauce (for example, some domburi dishes) and may become a little bit difficult to eat with chopsticks, are often eaten with large spoons rather than chopsticks.

Big pieces of food (e.g. prawn tempura, tofu)
Separate the piece with your chopsticks (this takes some exercise), or just bite off a piece and put the rest back onto your plate.

Some Table Rules

• Blowing your nose in public, and especially at the table, is considered bad manner.
  
• It is considered good manner to empty your dishes to the last grain of rice.
  
• Talking about toilet related and similarly disappetizing topics during or before a meal is not appreciated by most people.
  
• Unlike in some other parts of East Asia, it is considered bad manner to burp.
  
• After finishing eating, try to place all your dishes in the same way as they were at the start of the meal. This includes replacing the lid of dishes which came with a lid and replacing your chopsticks on the chopstick holder or into their paper slip, if applicable.
  

Discussion Questions
Session One
1. Do you like Japanese foods? Which kind you like the most? Check out if you eat it the "right" way
2. According to the research, Japanese are the longest living humans in the world. It's highly related to the foods they eat and the style that they eat. Please discuss this from the food and culture aspects.

Session Two
1. Are there any table manner issues in your daily life such as having dinner with your lover's parents? From Taiwan to other countries, do you know some interesting table manners ?
2. We talked about foods in Japan. Please discuss the eating habits and food styles in other countries.
3. Do you have any special or interesting experiences about food when traveling? Share them with us.