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What is sashimi?

Sashimi is a delicious Japanese dish of thinly sliced slices of fresh raw fish or seafood without sushi rice. Sashimi is often eaten by true enthusiasts who really want to taste the pure full flavor of fish or shellfish, since no other ingredient is added. Favorites include salmon, tuna, yellowtail and squid.

What fish can you use for sashimi?

One of the most frequently asked questions is what types of fish you can use for sashimi. The most famous fish is salmon. This is most often used in a sashimi menu. The thin slices are cut from the salmon tenderloin. Most people like salmon sashimi from that part of the salmon the best, because of its soft texture and full flavor.

Another type of fish that is extremely popular is, of course, tuna. Especially in Japan, they love sashimi from this beautiful fish. Other commonly used fish for sashimi are mackerel, sea bass, halibut, squid, octopus and scallops.

The most important thing about sashimi is the freshness of your produce. Therefore, use only ingredients that are of sashimi quality.

What is meant by the term fish of sashimi quality?

You often hear Japanese chefs talk about “sashimi quality fish. But what exactly is that? You see, sashimi fish is among the best quality, and only the best fish is good enough to be made into sushi and sashimi.

Fish of this quality can be eaten raw. Therefore, always ask your local fish store for sashimi quality fish if you want to have a sushi or sashimi dinner at home yourself.

How do you eat sashimi the way it should be eaten?

Japanese etiquette states that you eat sashimi with chopsticks and not with your hands. When eating sashimi, use chopsticks and make sure you don’t overload each piece with soy sauce, as this overpowers the taste of the fish, which is obviously a waste. Sashimi is mostly about the taste of pure fish.

Do you like your food a little spicy? Grab a tip of wasabi with your chopstick. Then spread some wasabi on your slice of sashimi.

I see a lot of people dissolving wasabi in their bowl of soy sauce. That’s actually “not done. The pungency of wasabi is volatile, so dissolving it in soy sauce weakens the pungency. Moreover, mixing wasabi into the soy sauce is considered poor etiquette.

Then you quietly and carefully dip your slice of fish into the soy sauce. As mentioned, put only a small amount on it, otherwise you will only taste the salty taste of the sauce instead of the unique flavor of the fresh raw fish.

Order sashimi at a sushi restaurant as an appetizer

In Japan, people generally eat sashimi as an appetizer. Personally, I always order sashimi in a restaurant, because you can tell by the taste whether you are being offered quality or not. Also, I like to start with some slices of fresh fish.

After that I order a delicious nigiri or a maki. This way I combine all the flavors that a good sushi restaurant has on the menu.