Sashimi: Discover Japan’s Famous Food
What is Sashimi?
Sashimi is a famous Japanese appetizer, made from raw fish and seafood. This is a special dish prepared with great care, where each piece of fish or seafood is sliced thinly and evenly to retain the freshest flavor. Sashimi is often enjoyed with soy sauce, wasabi (spicy seasoning), and red ginger (gari) to clean the mouth. Although it is raw seafood, sashimi does not have a fishy smell but is very sweet and fragrant, becoming a delicate work of culinary art.
Popular fish and seafood for sashimi
Sashimi can be made from many different types of fish and seafood, creating a variety of flavors and culinary experiences:
- Salmon (Sake): Salmon has a naturally fatty and sweet taste, often favored due to its high nutritional content.
- Fugu (Fugu): A high-class dish with a unique flavor, but needs to be processed carefully due to its toxins.
- Tuna (Tuna): There are parts such as Akami (dark red meat) and Chutoro (pink red meat), each with different flavors and fat content.
- Squid (Ika): Provides a characteristic crunchy and sweet taste, along with a high DHA content.
- Octopus (Tako): Has a sweet taste and a chewy texture, creating many attractive sashimi variations.
- Grouper (Suzuki): The fish has white, soft, sweet and light meat, and is often chilled to keep it fresh.
- Red clams (Hokkigai): Loved for their crunchy texture and delicious sweet taste, often eaten with wasabi and soy sauce.
- Horse meat (Basashi): Has a bright red color and a distinctive sweet taste, often eaten with sliced ginger, sake and soy sauce.
- Salmon roe (Ikura): The bright red eggs are sweet and slightly fatty, creating a popping sensation in the mouth.
- Pink shrimp (Amaebi): Famous for its sweet and crunchy meat, often paired with wasabi and soy sauce.
- Orange fish (Kanpachi): Has a pinkish-red rim on the outside and light pink meat on the inside, giving it a distinctive sweet and fatty taste.
- Scalps (Hotate): Loved for their crunchy texture and natural sweetness, without a fishy smell.
How to prepare delicious sashimi
To make standard sashimi, the chef will use the technique of cutting fresh fish into thin slices of standard size. The sashimi slices are beautifully arranged on a plate, often accompanied by perilla leaves, fresh ginger, and grated white radish. The accompanying dipping sauce is wasabi and soy sauce, which helps enhance the flavor of the dish. The combination of fresh ingredients and spices creates a rich and nutritious culinary experience.
How to eat sashimi like a Japanese person
To enjoy sashimi properly, you should note the following steps:
– Order of eating sashimi: Eat each type of fish in turn from light to dark meat. Use chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish, put a little wasabi in the middle of the fish, dip it in soy sauce and enjoy. After each dish, use a few slices of pickled ginger to clean your mouth before continuing with the next dish.
– Things to avoid:
- Bite the sashimi into small pieces: This reduces the ability to fully appreciate the flavor of the fish.
- Mix wasabi with soy sauce: This can take away the natural flavor of fresh seafood.
- Dip in soy sauce: Will prevent you from enjoying the natural sweetness of sashimi.
Distinguishing sushi and sashimi
Although sushi and sashimi are both famous Japanese dishes, they have distinct differences:
- Sushi :
– Main ingredients: White rice combined with ingredients such as fish, shrimp, snails, eggs, or raw vegetables.
– How to prepare: Rice is pressed into small balls or rolled with ingredients and can be wrapped with seaweed.
- Sashimi:
– Main ingredients: Only includes fresh seafood such as fish, shrimp, scallops, or animal meat, thinly sliced and not heat-processed.
– How to prepare: Seafood is thinly sliced and arranged on a plate or on a cold stone floor, often accompanied by spices such as wasabi, fresh ginger and soy sauce.
Sashimi is not only a simple dish but also a symbol of sophistication in Japanese cuisine. With a variety of ingredients and elaborate preparation, sashimi brings diners a unique and rich culinary experience. Enjoy sashimi properly to fully experience the flavor and essence of Japanese cuisine.
