When you want to learn more about Japanese food, there will be some questions to be answered. For example, is sashimi raw? What species can be used to make traditional sashimi, and can you make it at home? Luckily, this article will provide all the answers and help you understand this Japanese dish better.
Sashimi is raw fish. Although it’s mostly salmon and tuna, there are seven different sashimi types: maguro, sake, hamachi, hirame, saba, tai, and katsuo. Although this delicacy is often consumed on its own, it can also be served with soya sauce and other ingredients, but this is entirely optional.
Check some facts about sashimi and have the best bite of this famous Japanese dish.
Is Sashimi Raw
Sashimi is one of the traditional Japanese dishes that are practically raw protein. It’s usually fish, but people use other kinds of seafood and sometimes, but rarely, meat such as Wagyu beef. The most popular sashimi kinds include tuna, salmon, shrimp, and halibut. And with a very sharp knife, it is cut into delicate and thin slices.
This dish is often confused with sushi, especially by people who are beginners. However, when you know that sashimi is just raw seafood, it’s easy to figure out what’s the most important differences compared to sushi, and these are vinegar and seasoned rice.
Unlike sashimi, where you get raw pieces of food separately, most sushi types have cooked or raw seafood in mounds-shaped rice.
Why Do People Eat Raw Fish?
If you’re wondering what sashimi tastes like, it’s better to learn why people eat raw fish. Firstly, there are numerous different traditions for preparing fish all over the globe. In Japan, there’s a bit of a different tradition compared to the preparation process – they have been eating raw fish for centuries. It’s a significant part of their everyday diet, and here are some of the main reasons why:
- Nutrition benefits,
- Culture,
- High availability of fish.
Popular Sashimi Types
Sashimi is usually made from salmon, tuna, sea beam, and flounder. However, there are many different variants of seafood that are used. Even raw river fish is used – for example, many chefs use trout and carp. Still, saltwater variety is more widespread than freshwater sashimi. If you want to find out what sashimi types are there, check the table below and learn what species are used.
| Sashimi Type | Spiece |
| Tai | Sea Bream |
| Hamachi | Yellowtail |
| Sake | Salmon |
| Maguro | Tuna |
| Saba | Mackerel |
| Hirame | Flounder |
| Tako | Octopus |
| Uni | Sea urchin |
| Ikura | Salmon roe |
| Hotate | Scallop |
| Ika | Squid |
| Katsuo | Bonito |
Check the Best Way to Eat Sashimi
Whether you’ll eat finely cut sashimi slices with hands or chopsticks is completely up to you. Pick one piece and dip it in wasabi and soy sauce, if you like. One of the crucial things to learn is not to bite the sashimi slice in half. Instead, put the entire slice in your mouth and start chewing.
While wasabi and soy sauce can enhance the amazing flavor of the raw fish, some chefs will add shredded white radish and perilla as well. These ingredients are usually combined with wasabi, and it’s called Tsuma.
What’s Different Between Sashimi and Nigiri?
Nigiri is another dish sushi lovers have surely seen on almost every menu in Japanese restaurants. Now that you know what sashimi isn’t, let’s figure out what nigiri is and why people often mix it with sashimi.
There are two types of sushi – nigiri and maki. Maki is the most common type of sushi, and you’ve probably seen it in most restaurants. It has rice, fillings, and nori nicely rolled and finely cut to get bite-size pieces. Nigiri consists of rice and raw seafood.
Sashimi and nigiri are pretty similar, so it can be easy to get confused. However, nigiri has vinegar rice with the raw food. On the other hand, sashimi is just raw seafood.
Learn Some Important Facts About This Popular Japanese Dish
When you want to enjoy every single bite of the popular Japanese delicacy, it’s good to learn some important facts about sashimi. After all, you wouldn’t wonder whether sashimi is raw if this wasn’t your first time trying it. Many people aren’t used to it, so it’s better to be prepared adequately and know what you want to eat.