I’ve heard people say some of the
most obscene things
about Asian food.
Ok, so more directly
Japanese food.
Even more elaborate than
that:

Sushi.
Raw fish, chicken teryaki, beef, vegetarian.
Heaven in rice and nori.*
A circular (sometimes squarish...)
piece of food,
sushi has to be the
most misunderstood
and abused
of the food to be generalized with a culture.
Well, that and burritos.

People think that, if you eat raw fish
you will die
or get a disease
which we all know,
is a degree worse than death....
Some people just
got ‘knock-offs’ from Klein’s.
Yes, there is ‘knock-off’ sushi.
Others just don’t know how to eat it
and think that by using a fork
they’re cool
or American
No.
Sushi isn’t American
Sorry to burst your bubble.

There is
a whole system
to the sushi-eating process,
something that would probably
kill the obesity in America.
Either you’d spend so much time
figure out how to eat your food
or just give up and live off Poky*
forever.

In Japan
meals are  
began with itadakimasu,
a phrase which means
“I receive.”
The same way some families
pray before dinner
the japanese praise
the artist that constructs
the food before them
giving due respect.

Making sushi
is an art, the same way
that their writing is.
Every movement and shape
cautiously planned,
becoming something
that is to be indulged in like
a treasure.

When you’re eating sushi,
there’s a very delicate way
to it.
You’ve got to embrace it,
not just taste it.
There’s no way you can just
eat it.
You have to do it right,
otherwise
it’s not an experience.

You have to actually use
your inner talent,
use the chopsticks
not the whole
attempt-to-eat-with-chopsticks-get-angry
-and-set-the-restaurant- on-fire
or
fork-way out
because that is just cheating.


Beware the soy sauce,
it is a dark abyss of salty flavor
that may drag you down in your
plate and keep you there
the same way that
the kraken brought down ships.
Though not nearly as dramatically...



Eating raw fish
or cooked beef
or chicken teriyaki
or even vegetables
centered in rice and seaweed
is an expression
like wearing plastic purple jewelry
(Which you should never do)
or piercing your cheek
(which you should ALSO
never do),
so when you order,
don’t just say,
“whatever’s good;”
get whatever feels right
or as much as ten fifty’ll
get you.

Sushi is one of few foods
that is as diverse as
races and cultures.
It’s intimidating
to see a menu
with words
that look impossible to pronounce,
let alone try to consume.
Sashimi, Nigiri
Maki, and temaki
and those are just a
few of the types.



The last thing you should say
is, “I’m going to eat sushi,”
because you’re wrong.
You’re going to submerge your sense
ears deep in pure art.
Food as colorful and precise
as Japanese culture.



Next time you think there are better things in the
world then
rice, nori, and raw fish,

think again.