Just ask Anthony Bordain or my Japanese dad. There’s a right and wrong way to interact with sushi. Eating sushi with my dad has again reminded me of this. My response to my dad’s raised eyebrows is to explain that Americans are simply adapting and enjoying something the Japanese started. Here’s how this first generation diluted half-Asian eats sushi, without apology to any purist (sorry-not sorry, Dad and Anthony). 
- Soy sauce. I don’t make a wasabi/soy sauce slurry like some, but I will drizzle soy sauce lightly over all my sushi so I don’t have to bother with tedious individual dunking.
- California roll? Yes, please. There’s a reason why it’s so popular, why be a purist and fight it?
- Mayo or cream cheese in my roll? Sure! It won’t totally eclipse fresh fish, just more of the things I love in one bite.
- A mountain of crumbles on top that looks like someone spilled their cereal? I won’t turn my nose up at that either.
- Eating silently. If you think sushi can’t be slurped, you would be dead shogun wrong. With noisy enthusiasm my dad can slurp the dickens out of one little rice cylinder. When I try it, it just sounds ingenuine.
Whether you’re Asian, American, somewhere in between, or no where in between, enjoy sushi, any and every way you can.