Tag: Sashimi

Sashimi is a traditional Japanese food enjoyed by all ages in Japan. Sashimi is a very simple dish, in which cooking is not required but simply prepared by thinly cutting fresh fish, enabling us to enjoy the true quality of the fish. Sashimi is eaten with soy sauce and wasabi,(Japanese horse radish). Some people put the wasabi in the soy sauce, but the correct way to eat Sashimi is by taking small amount of wasabi with your chopsticks, put it on the fish, and dip into the soy sauce. Sashimi is a very simple dish, but the flavor of sashimi all depends on the way the fish is cut and prepared. There are different ways to cut the fish. For fish that is soft in texture and thick, like tuna and salmon, we use “Hiragiri”. For white fish, we use “Sogigiri”. For oily fish like mackerel, we use “Kirikakezukuri”, and for shellfish with a smooth texture, we use “Sazanamigiri”. Sashimi is also enjoyed by how it is presented on the plate. Thinly cut daikon radish, cucumber, and Ooba leaves called Tsuma or Ken, are used to put the sashimi on the plate. These not only add beauty to the presentation, it helps keep the freshness of the fish and also helps with the fish smell. Otherdecorative things we use for sashimi are seaweed, benidate (water pepper),kiku flower, and inflorescence of shiso, all which are edible. Fish is full of good protein and are much easier to digest than protein from meat. Eating raw fish like Sashimi, is the best way to intake nutrition. Toro, fatty part of tuna, is full of omega 3 fatty acids, such as DHA and EPA. Mackerel is full of omega 3 fatty acids, iron and vitamin A. Red snapper, traditionally served in festive events in Japan, is a white fish full of good protein. Compared to redmeat fish, the white fish is easier to digest and enjoyed by all ages. Surprisingly, salmon is also a white fish! The meat has pink color due to salmon eating food that includes astaxanthin, such as shrimp and plankton. Tsubugai(Whelk) does not have strong flavor to it but is full of protein and minerals, which are known to help relieve fatigue.