Before starting, I have to emphasize. Eat it however you want, at whatever pace you want, however much you want. Tradition is amazing and has a certain magic to it that captures that moment. There's nothing like living in the moment of a tradition, following every little nuance, correcting others. Some sushi snobs will go as far as to say you must eat a particular type of sushi, a particular type of way, and wash it down with a particular type of drink- anything else is a bastardization. You, however, should not be concerned with tradition right now. You are paying for a service you want to enjoy, so enjoy it however you feel will give you the most satisfaction. If you find that sushi is for you, the tradition will come later and give you a different, deeper sense of satisfaction. You can't, however, get to know a tradition if you do not know yourself. Enjoy it however you like.
That being said, let's get into the basics. There are three main categories you will be coming across: Maki (Rolls), Nigiri Sushi, and Sashimi. I like to compare them to Beer, Wine, and Spirits respectively.
Maki/Rolls
This is what you will probably be most familiar with. Today, Maki rolls are synonymous with sushi. They are sheets of roasted seaweed spread with rice, filled with ingredients, rolled, and cut into portions. With rolls, you will get a more sea salty taste. This is due to the roasted seaweed paper that holds everything together. Other types of sushi don't use seaweed paper as exclusively. In the very very back of my mind, maki are more American than they are Japanese because of how far they've come since. By some, they aren't considered 100% sushi, BUT THAT DOES NOT MATTER. Maki are going to be some of the more flavorful sushi you will have, simply because of the experimental arena they thrive in. Rolls will be simple, complicated, fresh, fried, dry, covered in sauce, layered with tastes, and sometimes even baked. Some are made with just a cut of fish, others are going to be made with sauces, recipes, vegetables, fruits, meat- just about anything tasty. Rolls allow chefs to present a variety of flavors and to mesh them in ways you normally wouldn't experience. This is why I refer to maki as the beer of sushi: there are thousands of different recipes that each chef can make and present. Sometimes, these varieties can vary locally. The point is, there are some you will enjoy, others you wont as much. And even within subcategories of beer, you have your favorites. Start out light and move around to see what you like. Try something basic like a California roll, a salmon roll, a tuna roll. From there, move up to spicy tuna rolls, where the chef has his or her own recipe. Go for ones with vegetables and different ingredients to expand your tastes. From there, try some tempura rolls- fried rolls. Trust me, they taste good. It all depends on what mood you're in. Sometimes, I like a crisp ale. Other times, I'm in the mood for a stout. Enjoy the variety.
This is what you will probably be most familiar with. Today, Maki rolls are synonymous with sushi. They are sheets of roasted seaweed spread with rice, filled with ingredients, rolled, and cut into portions. With rolls, you will get a more sea salty taste. This is due to the roasted seaweed paper that holds everything together. Other types of sushi don't use seaweed paper as exclusively. In the very very back of my mind, maki are more American than they are Japanese because of how far they've come since. By some, they aren't considered 100% sushi, BUT THAT DOES NOT MATTER. Maki are going to be some of the more flavorful sushi you will have, simply because of the experimental arena they thrive in. Rolls will be simple, complicated, fresh, fried, dry, covered in sauce, layered with tastes, and sometimes even baked. Some are made with just a cut of fish, others are going to be made with sauces, recipes, vegetables, fruits, meat- just about anything tasty. Rolls allow chefs to present a variety of flavors and to mesh them in ways you normally wouldn't experience. This is why I refer to maki as the beer of sushi: there are thousands of different recipes that each chef can make and present. Sometimes, these varieties can vary locally. The point is, there are some you will enjoy, others you wont as much. And even within subcategories of beer, you have your favorites. Start out light and move around to see what you like. Try something basic like a California roll, a salmon roll, a tuna roll. From there, move up to spicy tuna rolls, where the chef has his or her own recipe. Go for ones with vegetables and different ingredients to expand your tastes. From there, try some tempura rolls- fried rolls. Trust me, they taste good. It all depends on what mood you're in. Sometimes, I like a crisp ale. Other times, I'm in the mood for a stout. Enjoy the variety.
Nigiri Sushi
Here, we get into less of an emphasis on the many different flavors a chef can create, and more into the flavors he can pull out of the fish. While a chef could mask bad flavors and create interesting ones with maki, nigiri shows the true potential of a chef. In the most basic circumstances, there are only two ingredients: the fish and the rice. Fish are going to have their own tastes. Some stronger, some milder. Some fattier, some stringier. Some chewier, some more rubbery. In this instance, the art of the chef lies primarily within two aspects: how he cuts the fish, and how he uses the rice. The chef can choose to cut the fish very thinly or thickly, short and stubby or long and droopy. Each one of these will have a different quality in the mouth. Even with cuts of the same measure, a cut made from the belly will be different from a cut of the back, the tail, the collar: some will be fattier, oilier, drier, flakier. All of these elements have to be carefully balanced with the rice. Same with the fish, the rice shape can affect the mouth quality. More or less rice proportionately affects how much fish you get. Maybe it's a small morsel, maybe it's a mouthful. These will affect how you taste the fish. Aside from amount of rice, how the rice is prepared will also be a major factor. Sushi grain rice has a particular mouthfeel that other rices don't. How long it's left to cook will change that. After it is cooked, it is washed with different recipes and variations of salt, sugar, and rice vinegar. Some chefs' recipes will taste sweeter. Others will be saltier, and some will even be bland. It is up to the chef to know how much he should use of these (and sometimes other) ingredients, as well as how much to wash the rice. He then has to cut it meaning he has to mix it, and break any clumps. Clumpy rice is hard and not as tasty. If he takes too long to cut the rice, the rice gets cold, and clumps. If he does it too fast, it will still be clumpy. All these things can be inferred from just a cut of fish and some rice. This is why I refer to Nigiri as the wine of sushi. You know there's not much going on in there, but you try to see what considerations the chef had in making it. You try to extrapolate as many flavors as you can, and observe how they got there. Even how the fish is prepared prior to eating has an effect. Was it soaked? Brined with a sauce? Salted? These things you don't know until you try it. For now, don't expect to make all of these distinctions. You should try some simple nigiri for the fish, because you enjoy that fish. Now for some starter nigiri: the three big fish, at least in my humble opinion, are tuna (maguro), salmon (sake), and yellowtail (hamachi). These three are safe enough to guide you through nigiri sushi, but flavorful enough that there's enough to play with. Try those on for size first. If you're still iffy about the raw fish, you can always get shrimp (ebi) or eel (unagi). These two are usually cooked. Either steamed or baked. Shrimp, I feel is too simple, but that's just me, and eel is a bit more adventurous. Once again, you choose what you're most comfortable with, and enjoy it for what it is. But the point is, enjoy it.
Sashimi
Finally, sashimi is the simplest of the three. The 'neat spirits' of the sushi world, Sashimi is just the cut of fish. No rice, no bells, no whistles. Sometimes, it may be garnished with something like scallion, but that's chef's choice. That's all there is to it. Sashimi is very similar to nigiri without rice, except for the cut. Sashimi is usually thicker cut and more substantial, as to give you a better taste of the fish. Some sashimi can come thinner to give you a lighter taste. All depends on the chef. Traditionally, sashimi wasn't on the same level as sushi; sashimi was meant as a sampler, to get a feel of how fresh the fish was before you ordered nigiri. Today, sashimi is just as good and stands alone by itself as a treat. I've gotten drunk with my sushi master after hours, drinking sake and eating salmon (also sake!), and the sashimi stood out simply by itself. It's totally up to you!
Finally, sashimi is the simplest of the three. The 'neat spirits' of the sushi world, Sashimi is just the cut of fish. No rice, no bells, no whistles. Sometimes, it may be garnished with something like scallion, but that's chef's choice. That's all there is to it. Sashimi is very similar to nigiri without rice, except for the cut. Sashimi is usually thicker cut and more substantial, as to give you a better taste of the fish. Some sashimi can come thinner to give you a lighter taste. All depends on the chef. Traditionally, sashimi wasn't on the same level as sushi; sashimi was meant as a sampler, to get a feel of how fresh the fish was before you ordered nigiri. Today, sashimi is just as good and stands alone by itself as a treat. I've gotten drunk with my sushi master after hours, drinking sake and eating salmon (also sake!), and the sashimi stood out simply by itself. It's totally up to you!
Finally, ginger, wasabi, and miscellaneous etiquette I can't stress this enough. Do what feels right! Don't mind others. There seems to be a sort of etiquette that has since made its way out, things that have made their way in.
Ginger: used to cleanse the palate between sushi. Ginger is supposed to get rid of the fish flavor, so that you can fully enjoy different fish, without muddling the flavors in your mouth. Once upon a time, eating sushi together with ginger was considered offensive to the chef. It meant the fish/rice was so bad, you had to cover the flavor up. Today, I eat some sushi with ginger. It adds to the flavors. Some other flavors are too delicate to add ginger to, so I don't. Whatever I'm in the mood for.
Wasabi: Meant to draw out flavors in the fish. The stark contrast between the fresh fish and the spicy wasabi is meant to highlight aspects of the fish that are otherwise hidden in the 'fishiness.' Traditional wasabi, found predominantly in Japan, is made from grating the wasabi root right before eating the sushi. It has a very short shelf life, which is why sushi chefs will put wasabi underneath the fish, between the fish and rice- so that the flavor can be contained and not 'evaporate.' I myself have not had the luxury of tasting real wasabi yet. Instead, most places will use a mix of powdered horseradish and water to create a paste close enough to the real deal. Some people just don't like it. Some like a lot.
Soy sauce: Another thing to play with. Some chefs brush a bit of soy sauce (sometimes mixed with other ingredients) on the sushi, others use none, leaving you the option to use it at your discretion. Up to you however much you use. If eating nigiri, it's advisable to dip the fish side a bit, not the rice. The rice will break up.
Chopsticks or fingers?: Whichever is best for you. I eat rolls and sashimi with chopsticks, nigiri with my hands. Some people use forks. For the purposes of learning, these are all correct. Do what's best for you.
TL:DR There's no right or wrong way of eating sushi. You're paying for it with your own money, so you deserve to enjoy it however you want. Everyone is different, so don't base your enjoyment on others. Start easy with rolls, and get experimental once you have it down. Try some nigiri like salmon, tuna, and yellowtail to get a feel of sushi. Sashimi is also tasty, but start sushi as a whole unit. Finally, don't be afraid to ask the chef for recommendations!
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