When you eat nigiri sushi, you’ve probably noticed that it almost always comes in pairs. This is a commonly accepted practice for restaurants all over the world, including our Japanese restaurant in Bothell. Have you ever wondered if there was a reason behind this practice?
The paired nigiri dates back to the nineteenth century. Edomae-zushi, which was the predecessor of the nigiri sushi we know today, was the common form of sushi at the time. Edomae-zushi came in the form of a single large, square piece. This was often too big to comfortably eat for most diners. Therefore, diners developed the habit of slicing the square down the middle into two bite-sized pieces. As the years passed, restaurants decided to serve their sushi this way, and the nigiri sushi as we know it today was born.