1/23/2007

Now, the Japanese are perhaps the ONLY people in the world who eats their fish raw save for a handful of people in Latin countries and Italy where they eat their fish and beef raw with a squeeze of lemon and herbs, they call it Carpaccio. So today, we’re going to focus on Sashimi, notoriously mistaken for as sushi by *most* of our western counterparts who didn’t know any better. Frankly,all my western friend who have never been exposed to much asian/japanese culture (as in i have been their first asian friend) do not know the difference between sushi and sashimi. But then again, sushi and sashimi are quite similar… but not similar that they are the same.

Anyway, that’s not the main reason of the post here. Today it’s all about the freshes of the freshes of fish.

Sashimi (Japanese: 刺身) is a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of very fresh raw seafoods, thinly sliced into pieces about 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide by 4 cm (1½ inches) long by 0.5 cm (¼ inch) thick, and served with only a dipping sauce (like soy sauce with wasabi paste and thinly sliced ginger root, or ponzu), and a simple garnish like shiso and shredded daikon radish.

To make sashimi work, you need to use sushi grade fish. And that means, the fish has to be the freshes in the market. Sushi grade fish are perhaps more expensive than the usual - esp in Canada and US where sushi grade fish are reserved for restaurants and cheffies mostly. The look of a sushi grade fish is distinct - translucent, glossy flesh that springs back at a mere touch and does not smell AT ALL except for the smell of sea salt. So unless you know your fish seller well, you’re not likely to get any good stuff readily available.

The number one rule in choosing fish for your sashimi is that you should ALWAYS use salt water fish and never fresh water fish. Reason being, in fresh water fish, even though it’s fresh it’s not necessarily free from other pollutants such as parasites and bacterias that normally wouldn’t grow in salt water conditions. I get goosebumps thinking about what could be in a raw fresh water fish really but yes, always choose salt water fish like mackeral, bonito, octopus, squid, tuna, salmon, milk fish, yellow fin, trout, sea bream, sea bass and king fish (among others). And Of course, the notoriously poisonous fugu (blowfish), one of Japan’s highest level in form of delicacy that’s all about risks.

To eat fugu sashimi, make sure you go to certified fugu chefs only because one drop of its poison is enough to kill you instantly - however if you survive a fugu experience, you’ll probably say you went to heaven and came back becos the exquisite taste of fugu is unlike any other sashimi you’d ever eaten. How would i know? Well, many people who has eaten fugu and lived to tell the tale told me…of course their fugu meal cost them a bomb too. Fugu is expensive. There are also people who tells me that the novelty of eating fugu is just the risk that it could kill you, taste wise it’s just real bland. Hm…to each his/her own i suppose..

Here’s a picture of my favorite sashimi - Toro Sashimi

Here’s a simple sashimi and rice recipe that i absolutely love - it is categorized under sushi but to me, i think this dish is the link between sushi and sashimi - Chirashi Sushi. It’s basically, Japanese rice topped with sashimi. I love mine with raw salmon roe and Toro (the fattiest part of tuna) - it’s absolutely divine with wasabi, soy sauce and bonito flakes (i heart bonito flakes).

But this recipe is a recipe I modified to suit my cravings, it’s an adaptation from About.com

Chirashi Sushi ala Expedit

Ingredients:
3 Cups of cooked Sushi Rice
4-6 rehydrated/fresh shitake mushroom
1 teaspoon miso
1/3 cup water
300 gram block of Toro (Fatty Tuna OR just normal sushi grade Tuna)
100 gram salmon roe
Omelette
sliced cucumbers

Soy sauce, mirin and wasabi for sauce.

Method:
1. Cook rice. Click here to see how to cook the perfect sushi rice.

2. Cut your cucumbers into fine slices diagonally (cos it’s prettier that way). Set them aside. Flavoring your mushrooms: add miso and water in a pan, add mushroom and cook till liquid dissipates. Slice them finely and set aside. Make your omelette the way you know how and cut them into strips.

3. Take your Toro out from the fridge. Make sure your knife, cutting board and hands are clean. I’m a freak when it comes to handling and eating fresh, uncooked food.

4. Your toro should be in a square block, just cut them into 0.5 cm slices with a very sharp knife. It’s essential to have a sharp knife in your kitchen then preparation and cutting will be very pleasant. And since I like my fish to be thinner than usually, I am not going above 0.5 cm in thickness. you can also cut your fish in strips as well if that’s what you like.

5. Scoop some hot sushi rice into a bowl, add your mushroom slices, toro slices and your salmon roe…arrange them nicely. Spread your cucumber slices around the bowl and add strips of omelette over the top of your rice.

6. Add equal parts soy sauce and mirin and add as much wasabi as you want. Mix into a sauce. Pour over your sashimi and rice and add some bonito flakes, if you’d like.

7. Eat. :)

This is my version of Chirashi sushi - of course, you can put whatever toppings of fresh fish you like. This recipe feeds 4 people.

Source: Wikipedia; Haacked, About.com