Sashimi

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Sashimi (Japanese: 刺身) is a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of very fresh raw seafoods, thinly sliced into pieces about 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide by 4 cm (1½ inches) long by 0.5 cm (¼ inch) thick, and served with only a dipping sauce (like soy sauce with wasabi paste and thinly sliced ginger root, or ponzu), and a simple garnish like shiso and shredded daikon radish.

The name sashimi literally means "pierced body". It may have come from the former practice of sticking the tail of the fish on the slices, to let it be known which fish one was eating.

The word sashimi has naturalized into the English language and today is sometimes used to refer to other preparations of uncooked fish besides the traditional Japanese dish discussed in this article.

1 Serving
2 Varieties of sashimi
3 Other sashimi-style dishes
- 3.1 Outside of Japanese cuisine
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Serving

Image:Chef preparing octopus sashimi, December 2005.jpg

Sashimi is often the first course in a formal Japanese meal, but also often served as a main course with rice and Miso soup in separate bowls. Many people believe that sashimi, traditionally considered the finest dish in Japanese cuisine, should be eaten before other strong flavours affect the palate. Sashimi represents, in a way, the Japanese cultural appreciation of subtlety. The finer sensation can vary from salmon (firm but melt-in-your-mouth) to squid (slippery but firm), as well as everything in between.

The sliced seafood that comprises the main ingredient is typically draped over a garnish. The most typical garnish is Asian white radish (daikon) that has been shredded into long thin noodle-like strands, optionally accompanied by one green perilla leaf per slice.

Sauces served with sashimi are very simple: typically soy sauce, wasabi, and sometimes lemon juice. Japanese people often mix wasabi paste directly into soy sauce when preparing dipping sauces for sashimi, which is generally not done when eating sushi. However, some purists denounce the practice of mixing wasabi into soy sauce, saying that this dilutes the sharp hot flavour of wasabi. A reputed motivation for serving wasabi with sashimi (besides its flavour contribution) is to kill harmful bacteria and parasites that could be present in raw seafood.

[edit] Varieties of sashimi

Some of the most popular main ingredients for sashimi are:

鮭 Sake: Salmon
いか Ika: Squid
えび Ebi: Cooked Shrimp
まぐろ Maguro: Tuna
さば Saba: Mackerel
たこ Tako: Octopus
とろ Toro: Fatty Tuna
はまち Hamachi: Yellowtail
ふぐ Fugu: Takifugu

Some sashimi ingredients, like octopus, are sometimes served cooked due to its rather chewy nature when raw. Most seafood, like tuna, salmon, and squid, are served raw.

Tataki, (たたき or 叩き lit. "pounded"), is a type of sashimi. The name comes from the fact that sliced onion is placed on top of the uncut piece of fish and tapped with the side of the cutting blade to transfer the flavor. Also it is quickly and lightly seared outside, leaving it still raw inside.

Less common, but not unusual, sashimi ingredients are vegetarian items such as yuba (bean curd skin) and raw red meats, such as beef or horse. In Japan, chicken "sashimi" (slightly braised on the outside) is a delicacy.

[edit] Other sashimi-style dishes

Sashimi is similar to sushi, another Japanese food, often featuring raw fish, that is commonly served at the same establishments. Non-Japanese often confuse these two dishes, which are however considered distinct and separate by Japanese.

Differences between sushi and sashimi include:

sushi contains additional ingredients beyond fish and garnishes (at a minimum, rice and vinegar)
sushi often has other featured ingredients instead of raw meat
sushi is made at home less commonly than sashimi

Another sashimi-like dish is namasu, which consists of, among other ingredients, raw marinated fish, and was originally introduced from ancient China to ancient Japan.

[edit] Outside of Japanese cuisine

Raw fish dishes are not unique to Japan. For instance, a similar dish exists in Korean cuisine called hoe. The Finnish joulupöytä (Christmas platter) often contains sashimi-like slices of salmon, whitefish, or pikeperch. English speakers sometimes refer to all such non-Japanese dishes as sashimi.

ceviche Latin-American marinated raw fish dish
carpaccio Italian very thin slices, most often made with swordfish and less commonly with tuna or other large fish, usually served with lemon juice (a variant of the more common beef carpaccio)
gravlax, Scandinavian raw spiced salmon.
hoe Korean dish of sliced raw fish
joulupöytä Finnish variety platter, traditionally served at Christmas
kinilaw/kilawin Filipino vinegared raw fish
poke Hawaiian raw fish salad
tartare European minced meat or fish dish