【Reading】さび/なみだ

【English Name】Sabi / Wasabi / Namida

'Sabi' and 'namida' are both jargon for wasabi used at sushi restaurants.

Sabi is a shortened way of saying 'wasabi,' used routinely among sushi chefs and regular customers. When ordering, saying 'sabi-nuki' means leaving out the wasabi, and 'sabi-oome' means adding more wasabi.

Namida means 'tears,' a name derived from the way wasabi's strong pungency shoots up through the nose and brings tears to the eyes. This too has long been used as jargon in the sushi industry.

At sushi restaurants there is a culture of avoiding direct expressions in front of customers, and a custom of giving ingredients and seasonings their own names. Like 'agari' (tea), 'murasaki' (soy sauce), and 'shari' (vinegared rice), sabi and namida have likewise become established as part of this sushi vocabulary.

Note that the amount of wasabi is properly adjusted by the chef who forms the sushi to match the topping, and it is used differently according to the fattiness and flavor of the topping.