Introducing Parents to Sushi

To begin with, my parents are pretty cool. I would try new recipes at home and everyone would appreciate me, only to discover that the vanilla syrup was expired and the cake tasted like rotten watermelon but nobody said a word. My parents are quite enthusiastic about food and try things ranging from gourmet steak to roadside phuchka from time to time, but still I wondered if feeding them sushi would be too big a deal or not. 

On the day of Pahela Baishakh, I proposed going out for dinner and wanted them to try sushi for the first time. Mom was happy about it; dad, however, threw tantrums. He wouldn't go out in the heat and traffic or eat Japanese food on Bengali New Year. Lastly, he reminded me how I once refused to taste this 'brain masala' dish that he ordered at some place. The men in my life are such 12-year-olds sometimes. 

So, I took my mother to a restaurant in Banani where I had first tried sushi. I was thinking of how to ease her into sushi-land. After going through the menu and being confused for a while, I finally decided upon the bento box. That's almost like a crash course on sushi. I remember trying the sushi platter on my first visit but this option was better, really. The combo would have rice, chicken and beef items besides the sushi and maki rolls. So, if mother couldn't eat the latter, she would at least be able to have the familiar dishes and not go entirely hungry. 

As we waited for the food to arrive, I briefed her a little on what to expect. I explained what wasabi was and never to gulp down a lot of it at once. I said the bento box would have both prawn and cuttlefish sushi and she wanted to know if cuttlefish was a fancy name for some common fish. So, I googled her a picture of it and was quite grossed out myself. I thought I'd explain the complicated maki rolls once the food was served. 

Finally, the bento box was in front of us. We had also ordered both fruit chillers and water, whatever made gulping down food easier. My mother started with the prawn tempuras. It's almost what we have at home. Next up, sushi. I kept my cutleries down and watched her. Fingers crossed. She took a mouthful. Blank face. I waited. Ah, green signal. She finished it. So, at least I knew it was edible. 

Then we moved on to the maki rolls and I explained that the black, crisp wrapping is nori or seaweed. The sticky rice supposedly has vinegar and inside are fillings that can range from cucumber to fish eggs. She finished it too. She liked them all. It looked like we won. 

If I may add a disclaimer of sorts, sushi served in restaurants here is quite modified to suit the Bengali palette. It's almost like deshi Chinese that's nothing like anything from China. So, chances are once anyone musters the courage to put sushi in his/her mouth, they won't be disappointed. However, trying authentic sushi can be an entirely different experience. 

If you are looking to make your parents try sushi for the first time, chances are that one of them just won't. One of them may like it or both may dislike it. Whatever it is, buy them ice cream afterwards and pay for the meal. Or, scratch that. Just have a good time. Yes, I did.