What do you do when you've ordered too much sushi?

From another thread:

mattshafferHP wrote:We ordered the sushi boat and a couple of rolls, and it was WAY more food than we could handle.

What do you do when this happens? I know what I do, which is force myself to eat until everything's gone, even though I'm not hungry. I don't do this with any other kind of food. I have no problem leaving something on my plate in any other kind of restaurant. But for some reason, leaving sushi uneaten seems like a sin; I never worry about wastefulness in any other kind of restaurant, but in a sushi place I castigate myself for my eyes being bigger than my stomach, and think about all the people going hungry that night. Uneaten sushi also seems like an insult to the sushi chef, in a way I never feel with the food in any other kind of place. And for some reason, taking the leftovers to go doesn't seem like a good idea either, although I can't tell you why. Do others have this same sushi-specific, must-eat-it-all compunction? Or do you feel fine stopping when you're full, even if it means trays going back to the kitchen with sushi on them?

Unlike many foods, it doesn't store well for later, not even the vegetable rolls. So yeah, I eat it also.

I bring it home because inevitably I'm hungry 2 hours after dinner regardless of what I eat.
2 hours may mean sushi isn't pristine and I suppose there's a risk of it going bad and me getting sick, but it's never happened and I like having it for my midnight snack.

Just for fun, I might try freezing leftover sushi. Certainly, a maki roll would lose the crispness of the nori, but I'm wondering if nigiri would suffer that much. I think I have an experiment in my future.

I eat it too, but if I'm ordering a large combo, I'm careful not to order anything else until I've finished the sushi. I'd be worried about the freshness if I took it home.

nr706 wrote:Just for fun, I might try freezing leftover sushi. Certainly, a maki roll would lose the crispness of the nori, but I'm wondering if nigiri would suffer that much. I think I have an experiment in my future.

Just don't bring it to the picnic.

Thinking about the guilt of uneaten sushi, I think it must stem from two facts. One, the guy who made it for you, with all the craft and artistry in his arsenal, is right there. You feel like you're personally insulting him if you don't eat every piece. (And--this may be wholly imaginary, or may not be--it feels like a cultural issue is at stake, in that not finishing everything might be a terrible breach of Japanese etiquette, and understood to be a sign of disrespect.) Two, the rawness of the fish brings to mind more than most foods that life died for your enjoyment, and how dare you disregard that sacrifice.

Just a theory.

While the fish may do alright in the freezer, the rice and the nori do not.

I have brought mine home and eaten it later that night, or the next day. It's not the same but it won't kill ya. I couldn't send all that back to the kitchen...if only for the expense! If I felt myself getting too full, I'd eat the stuff that wouldn't do well in storage and save the rest.

Jazzfood wrote:While the fish may do alright in the freezer, the rice and the nori do not.

None of it will do alright in the freezer. The fish has likely been frozen once already, under far better conditions than you can hope to achieve at home. You'll end up with something pretty bad.

Probably true. I'm still going to try it, and I'll report back. Heck, all I'm risking is a single piece of nigiri.

I've had this happen a few times and I always eat it for breakfast the next day--the only casualty is usually that there's no way to warm the rice that wouldn't affect the fish--so it's a bit crunchier than you'd want.

But if I was to try and repurpose the fish, I'd probably take it off the rice and make ceviche. Acid and chili heat would help both with the flavor and texture (and maybe anything undesirable that came along for the ride )

I've been known to enjoy next-day sushi for a quick breakfast.
My dog loves old sushi, perhaps more than I like the fresh stuff.