That experience taught me that a big part of eating is in my head. If I am open-minded and don't make assumptions about the food, then I will most probably like it. Therefore, when I ate grasshopper, I just put it into my mouth and started chewing. It was nice and crunchy, with a sweet sauce on top. It was good enough that I went back a second time to eat it. I did the same thing with the bee larvae, which were chewy and had a similar sweet sauce. Same with the chicken heart, chicken neck and cow tail ramen. Every food had a different texture. For example, the heart was chewy, the neck was crunchy and the cow tail was soft. Some of those foods I wouldn't have again, like the whale, since it is an endangered species. However, I make it a point to try it once with an open mind, so I can experience the food of Japan and learn what I like and don't like.
There are two main ingredients found in most sushi: rice and fish. The rice is boiled in a large pot with extra water so the pieces of rice stick together. In Japan, there are many different types of rice, each varying in the type of grain, how it was grown and where it was grown. The next part is the fish. It has to be very fresh, so sushi is made out of fish that was caught and bought just that morning. After buying the fish in the market, sushi chefs cut it up and immediately and put the meat on ice to keep it fresh. Only when they are making the sushi do they take it off the ice, cut smaller pieces, and put it on top of the ball of sushi rice. Sushi is then given to the customer, usually two at a time. Customers can put soy sauce or wasabi, or spicy sauce, on the sushi if they want, and then eat it in one bite.
