The word sashimi means 'pierced body', i.e., "
刺身" = sashimi, where
刺し = sashi (pierced, stuck) and
身 = mi (body, meat). This word dates from the
Muromachi period (1336 to 1573) and was possibly coined when the word "
切る" = kiru (cut), the culinary step, was considered too inauspicious to be used by anyone other than
samurai. This word may derive from the culinary practice of sticking the fish's tail and fin to the slices for the purpose of identifying the fish being eaten.[citation needed]
Another possibility for the name is the traditional method of harvesting. "Sashimi-grade" fish is caught by individual handline. As soon as the fish is landed, its brain is pierced with a sharp spike, and it is placed in slurried ice. This spiking is called the
ikejime process, and the instantaneous death means that the fish's flesh contains a minimal amount of
lactic acid. This means that the fish will keep fresh on ice for about ten days, without turning white or otherwise degrading.[citation needed]
Many non-Japanese use the terms sashimi and sushi interchangeably, but the two dishes are distinct and separate. Sushi refers to any dish made with vinegared rice. While raw fish is one traditional sushi ingredient, many sushi dishes contain seafood that has been cooked, and others have no seafood at all including ingredients like seaweed and vegetables.[2]Sashimi by contrast is always served on its own.[3] Although Japan has long had the custom of eating fish raw, the idea of serving it as a beautifully arranged dish is thought to have come from China, probably around the
Kamakura period (1185–1333). An early cookbook in Japanese, written in 1489, directs that the raw flesh should be sliced and mixed with vinegar and seasonings such as salt and herbs.[4]
An early western description of sashimi comes from a letter written by the future
Admiral of the FleetSir Arthur Wilson of the
Royal Navy, who was assigned to the British naval mission to Japan in the late 1860s: "It is a peculiar sort of fish, which they cut in very thin slices and serve up with some sort of sauce over it. It is considered a great delicacy. I have tried it and did not find it bad, but the idea is not nice."[5]
Serving
Sashimi is often the first course in a formal Japanese meal, but it can also be the main course, presented with
rice and
miso soup in separate bowls.[dubious –
discuss] Japanese chefs consider sashimi the finest dish in Japanese formal dining and recommend that it be eaten before other strong flavors affect the
palate.[6]
The sliced seafood that composes the main ingredient is typically draped over a garnish. The typical garnish is Asian white radish, daikon, shredded into long thin strands, or single leaves of the herb shiso (
perilla).[6] Garnishes for sashimi are generally called tsuma and may also include slices of other raw vegetables, such as cucumbers and carrots, as well as seaweeds, flowers and leaves and stems of other plants.[4]
Sashimi is popularly served with a dipping sauce (
soy sauce) and condiments such as
wasabi paste, grated fresh
ginger,[6]gari or pickled ginger,[2][7] grated fresh
garlic, or
ponzu for meat sashimi, and such garnishes as shiso and shredded daikon radish.
Wasabi paste is sometimes mixed directly into soy sauce as a dipping sauce, which is generally not done when eating
sushi (which itself normally includes wasabi). A reputed motivation for serving wasabi with sashimi and also gari, besides its flavor, is killing harmful bacteria and parasites that could be present in raw seafood.[8]
Preparation
To highlight the delicate flavor as well as for texture, the chef cuts fish into different thicknesses by variety of the fish, its age and by the season.[9][10][11] The hira-zukuri cut (literally 'flat slice'), is the standard cut for most sashimi. Typically this style of cut is the size of a domino and 10 mm (3⁄8 in) thick. Tuna, salmon, and kingfish are most commonly cut in this style. The usu-zukuri cut (literally 'thin slice'), is an extremely thin, diagonally cut slice that is mostly used to cut firm fish, such as bream, whiting, and flounder. The dimensions of this cut are usually 50 mm (2 in) long and 2 mm (1⁄16 in) wide. The kaku-zukuri cut (literally 'square slice'), is the style in which sashimi is cut into small cubes that are 20 mm (3⁄4 in) on each side. The ito-zukuri cut (literally 'thread slice'), is the style in which the fish is cut into fine strips, less than 2 mm (1⁄16 in) in diameter. The fish typically cut with the ito-zukuri style include garfish and squid;[12][13] squid dish prepared in ito-zukuri is also called ika sōmen and is dipped in dashi or men-tsuyu like eating sōmen noodle.[9]
Some sashimi ingredients, such as octopus, are sometimes served cooked given their chewy nature. Most seafood, such as tuna, salmon, and squid, are served raw. Tataki (たたき or 叩き, 'pounded') is a type of sashimi that is quickly and lightly
seared on the outside, leaving it raw inside.[14]
Ingredients other than raw fish meat
Food cut into small pieces and eaten with wasabi and soy sauce may be called sashimi in Japan, including the following ingredients. Like bamboo shoots, the food is enjoyed raw to appreciate the freshness, and producers and farmers offer those sashimi at their properties in top season. Some of the vegetables are enjoyed as thin sliced strips and called sashimi while they resemble fish meat, like avocado as salmon and konnyaku as puffer fish.
Less common, but not unusual, sashimi ingredients are vegetarian items, such as
yuba (bean curd skin), and raw red meats, such as
beef (known as gyuunotataki) or
horse (known as basashi).[15]Chicken "sashimi" (known as toriwasa) is considered by some [who?] to be a delicacy; the
Nagoyakōchin,
Frenchpoulet de Bresse and its American derivative, the
blue foot chicken, are favored by many for this purpose, as, besides their taste, they are certified to be free of Salmonella.[citation needed] Chicken sashimi is sometimes slightly braised or seared on the outside.[16]
Vegetable
Avocado: served as "avocado sashimi", it is considered to have a texture similar to raw or slightly salted fatty salmon. It is eaten with wasabi soy sauce.
Bamboo shoots: farmers of bamboo grove serves
takenoko in course menu, and sashimi is almost always entered during the high season of harvest.[17][18]
Japanese
radish: among many varieties of vegetables eaten fresh, it is said that the flavor stands out when tasted within a couple of hours after harvesting, and called sashimi vegetables instead of very fresh salad.[19]
Konnyaku: cut into short thin strips resembling puffer fish meat, thus called yama fugu (mountain puffer fish) in some regions. Served with vinegar and miso, wasabi and soy sauce, vinegar and soy sauce.
Yuba, or tofu skin: while there are restaurants where customers cook their own yuba and eat while it is hot, yuba-sashi or sashimi of yuba is chilled and served with wasabi soy sauce or vinegar miso.[20]
Meat
Beef, pork, and
poultry: bought from licensed butchers and processors, those were served raw, and cases are that the restaurant offer slightly cooked meat as sashimi to avoid high risk of food poisoning and parasite infection, by treating meat in boiling water (yubiki) or braised with gas torch (aburi). Served with
ponzu citrus vinegar.
Chicken meat (toriwasa) is thinly sliced
Nagoyakōchin flesh, liver, heart and gizzard.
Chiragaa: boiled face skin of pork,[21][22] served with vinegar and miso sauce, also served as Okinawa cuisine.
Horse meat: offered with grated garlic and soy sauce.
Mimigaa: boiled ears of pork, also served as Okinawa cuisine.[24]
Offal: advised to buy from meat processors or restaurants with licenses, as fatal food poisoning happened in Japan with beef liver.[a][b]
Wild meat: boar as Okinawa cuisine consumed on
Iriomote and
Ishigaki islands and boiled meat is served. Deer meat.
Others
Fishcake: one among the express menu on izakaya menu, offered as Itawasa. Sliced into 1 centimetre (0.39 in) thick strips, and eat with wasabi and soy sauce.
Seaweed:
wakame is in strict sense not eaten raw but dipped in boiling water for a few seconds, and enjoyed the fresh green color, with wasabi soy sauce. Marinating with vinegar and miso sauce is popular as well.
Beef liver sashimi served with sesame seed oil and salt[a]
Safety
As a
raw food, consuming sashimi can result in
foodborne illness when bacteria or parasites are present; for example,
anisakiasis is a disease caused by the accidental ingestion of larval
nematodes in the family
Anisakidae, primarily Anisakis simplex but also Pseudoterranova decipiens.[29] In addition, incorrectly prepared
Fugu fish may contain
tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin.
Another type of food borne illness that could occur after consuming tainted sashimi is
Diphyllobothriasis. This disease is an infection within the intestines that occurs when the tapeworm Diphyllobothrium latum is consumed. Common fish such as trout, salmon, pike, and sea bass harbor this parasitic larva in their muscles. Since the innovation of the chilled transport system paired with the salmon and trout consumption, an increasing number of cases have been recorded annually in northern Japan due to the spread of this disease.[30]
Traditionally, fish that spend at least part of their lives in
brackish or fresh water were considered unsuitable for sashimi because of the possibility of parasites. For example, salmon, an
anadromous fish, is not traditionally eaten straight out of the river.[citation needed] A study in
Seattle, Washington, showed that all wild salmon had
roundworm larvae capable of infecting people, while farm-raised salmon did not have any roundworm larvae.[31] However a study commissioned by the Pew Foundation found that total organic contaminants were consistently and significantly more concentrated in the farmed salmon as a group than in wild salmon.[32]
Freezing is often used to kill parasites. According to
European Union regulations,[33] freezing fish at −20 °C (−4 °F) for 24 hours kills parasites. The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends freezing at −35 °C (−31 °F) for 15 hours, or at −20 °C (−4 °F) for 7 days.[34]
While
Canada does not federally regulate freezing fish,
British Columbia[35] and
Alberta[36] voluntarily adhere to guidelines similar to the FDA's.[37]Ontario attempted to legislate freezing as part of raw food handling requirements, though this was soon withdrawn due to protests by the industry that the subtle flavors and texture of raw fish would be destroyed by freezing. Instead, Ontario has decided to consider regulations on how raw fish must be handled prior to serving.[38]
Some fish for sashimi are treated with
carbon monoxide to keep the flesh red for a longer time in storage. This practice can make
spoiled fish appear fresh.[39][40]
Eating
chicken sashimi is a serious
food poisoning risk. Despite it being on menus, it is hard to find, and many chefs cook it incorrectly. Chicken sashimi is also often sourced at certain restaurants from the thigh, liver and outer breast.[16]
Environmental concerns
With the constant amount of fishing, bluefin tuna population rates have been steadily declining. A proposed solution has been farming bluefin tuna in fisheries. Historically, this has posed a problem in that the captive fish are not raised from spawn, but rather from small wild fish that are netted and transported to the farms, mostly in the Mediterranean.[41] However, Japanese scientists have found a way to successfully breed and raise the fish entirely in captivity.[42]
^
abJapanese regulation has banned providing or selling raw beef liver for sashimi at restaurants or stores, due to the risk of Hepatitis E and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, since July 2012.[28]
^With cases reported in 2012,
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare banned beef liver to be served as sashimi after 12 cases of food poisoning was reported.[25][26] The regulation was tightened in 2015 and pork liver was added to banned offal.[27]
^
abcTsuji, Shizuo; Fisher, M.F.K.; Reichi, Ruth (17 February 2007). Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art (25th Anniversary ed.). Kodansha USA. pp. 158–60.
ISBN978-4-7700-3049-8.
^"Wasabi". Japan Deluxe Tours. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
^
abŌta, Tadamichi (2008). Kentei washoku chōri no hōchō gijutsu: shoshinsha kara ryōrinin made gijutsu ga kanzen ni mi ni tsuku ! [Certified Japanese cooking technology for using kitchen knives: From beginners to cooks, skills are fully acquired!] (in Japanese). Tōkyō: Asahiya shuppan.
ISBN9784751107690.
OCLC23313847.
^Ōta, Tadamichi (2013). Shin★sashimi ryori no chori to enshutsu: ninki wo yobu sashimi-zukuri no gijutsu kokai [New Sashimi dish cooking and presentation: Technical know-how revealed on preparing popular sashimi dishes]. Asahiya Shuppan MOOK (in Japanese). Asahiya Shuppan.
ISBN9784751110256.
OCLC842834700.
NCIDBB13254487
^Ōta, T. (2018). Shinka suru sashimi ryori: miryoku wo takameru sashimi no ryori-zukuri to chori gijutsu [Evolving sashimi cuisine: Sashimi cooking and decoration techniques to better appeal] (in Japanese). Asahiya Shuppan.
ISBN9784751113127.
OCLC1021860782.
NCIDBB25638919
^Muroi, Hiroshi (July 1983). "Takenoko no sashimi". Fuji Take-rui Shokubutsuen Hokoku: The Reports of the Fuji Bamboo Garden (in Japanese) (27).
Gotemba, Shizuoka: Nihon takesasa no kai: 95–98.
ISSN0287-3494.
OCLC5178838299.
^Okinawa/Amami Slow Food Society, ed. (October 2004). Okinawa suro fudo okoku: karada to kokoro ni hibikiau, furusato okinawa no aji magajin [Okinawa Slow Food Kingdom: Taste magazine of oldness and Okinawa that resonates with body and mind] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Ei Shuppan. p. 29.
ISBN4-7779-0171-8.
^Tokai seikatsu kenkyu purojekuto Okinawa chimu, ed. (2009). Okinawa ruru: riaru okinawa-jin ni narutame no 49 no ruru [Okinawan Rules: 49 rules that you should master before becoming a real Okinawan]. Chukei shuppan /
KADOKAWA.
^"Nenkan wazuka 12-rei no shokuchudoku wo nakusutame, shomin no tanoshimi wa ubawareta: "Rebasashi" wo kinshi shita Korosho no oobaka kisei" [part 13: The pleasure of the common people was taken away to eliminate only 12 cases of food poisoning a year: ban on beef liver sashimi, an absurd measure by the
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare]. Shukan Posuto. Honshi "Shiroari kujotai" ga iku (in Japanese). 44 (20(2180)). Shogakukan: 47–49. 18 May 2012.
^Taniguchi, Natsuko (2013). Sayonara rebasashi: Kinshi made no yonhyaku-sanjūhachi-nichikan [Goodbye, liver sashimi: 438 days to ban]. BAMBOO ESSAY SELECTION. Tokyo: Takeshobō.
ISBN9784812495933.
OCLC853442433.
Gordenker, Alice (28 November 2015). "Why Do We Need a Little Bit on the Side?". So What the Heck Is That (column). Japan Times. On the garnishes for sashimi.