Sashimi
さしみ、刺身
(also called tsukuri 作り or tsukurimi 作り身 in the Kansai)
Sliced raw fish
"A cardinal principle of Japanese cuisine is that any seafood fresh enough to be eaten raw, should be served raw" (Richard Hosking, A Dictionary of Japanese Food)
"Raw fish" is the common translation for "sashimi," but it is not entirely correct. In the first place, besides fish, also other seafood as shellfish and crustaceans is regularly used; and in certain regions, even raw meat. The second thing is that it must imply slicing (as the Japanese characters above indicate) - Japanese cuisine is not built on "cooking" and "heating" as the Western one, but on the skillful use of the cook's knives (hocho). In other words, raw oysters are not considered as sashimi, but raw slices of scallops are included. The role played by human intervention is also clear from the term used in the Kansai for sliced raw fish: tsukuri means "made, created" and also includes an aspect of "skill." This means that the preparation of sashimi is the preserve of professionals such as sushi chefs, as they are the only ones who possess the necessary experience and skill to use the high-quality knives, and have been trained in how to cut (which parts, which direction the knife should be moved, which type of knife should be used, etc.).
Sashimi is a key component of formal multi-course meals (kaiseki), where it is usually the second course, after the initial appetizers - this to prevent that its sensitive flavors become unintelligible to tongues spoiled by strong simmered or grilled dishes. It is the dish in which the chef demonstrates his skill with the cook's knife. Sashimi also figures regularly on the menus of sushi restaurants.
A special way of eating sashimi in specialized restaurants is ikizukuri, in which the fish is sliced while still alive. The sashimi is arranged artistically on the body of the fish, between the head and tail, and may be served in an ornate manner, for example on a wooden boat-shaped dish. The restaurants usually have a fish basin or tank from which the fish is caught immediately before preparation. In sharp contrast to the refrigerated sashimi from the supermarket, sashimi in ikizukuri is still warm when eaten. Ikizukuri is a common way of offering sea bream (tai).
Most often, however, sashimi is simply arranged on a dish with garnishes typical of the season. Commonly used types of fish are tuna (maguro), sea bream (tai), yellowtail (buri), octopus (tako - always first boiled) and squid (ika). Eaters dip the fish into strong shoyu (tamari-joyu) containing wasabi and benitade (water pepper), and eat it with the garnishes on the dish like thinly sliced strips of raw daikon and aojiso (green beefsteak plant).
Eaten at home it is a small luxury which is usually bought prepared by the fishmonger, or nowadays more often the supermarket. Also at home, it is eaten at the beginning of the meal with a dip of soy sauce and grated wasabi, possibly with the addition of benitade.
A special form of sashimi is tataki (たたき, "pounded"), which is lightly seared on the outside, leaving it raw inside. Katsuo (skipjack tuna) is often served in this way.
As mentioned above, sashimi can also refer to thinly sliced raw meat (carpaccio-like), such as horse meat, beef, chicken and whale, but these dishes are extremely rare and limited to local cuisines, such as basashi (raw horse meat) in Kumamoto. Moreover, raw meat is dangerous as it can lead to fatal food poisoning.
Infinitely more healthy are vegetables used as "sashimi" - these can be anything from avocado to bamboo shoots, but the most interesting one is konnyaku, cut into short thin strips, which is for example popular in Shiga prefecture. Konnyaku sashimi is served with vinegar and miso.