Sushi: What Bracha?

What Bracha is sushi?

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There are two main types of sushi: Nigiri, which is a slice of raw fish over a mound of pressed vinegared rice and Maki which is rice and other ingredients like fish and cucumbers wrapped in seaweed (nori). As such, the ingredients are typically nori (Seaweed), rice, fish, and vegetables.

As a general rule, in a food mixture where one food is primary and the other foods are there to enhance it, one recites the blessing for the primary food only.

The problem with sushi is that it is sometimes unclear what is the primary ingredient: the fish or the rice. Which food is enhancing which food? If everything was one mixture, like in the case of minced meat and rice, the blessing would simply be on whichever food is the majority: either the meat or the rice.

In sushi, the foods are not mixed, but quite distinct. As such, there is a debate among the authorities as to the correct blessing. Some say that one should simply recite the blessing of the majority component in one’s piece of sushi and some say that a blessing must be recited separately on every distinct and identifiable food.

However, Le'halacha  we say that if the rice is the majority of the sushi pieces (which it usually is) then one should simply recite “mezonos” on the piece of sushi, and the bracha of Mezonot exempts the other ingredients.

It is worth noting that if one is eating sushi with chopsticks on Shabbat, one should be sure to break apart the chopsticks before Shabbat as doing so “creates a utensil” and it is forbidden to do this on Shabbat.

OC 212:1 and commentaries