January 27, 2021

All about Sashimi

Home Cooked Feast for all!

Things I once didn’t know that you now will

Over the years, I’ve met many folks who have told me (unfortunately) countless times that they don’t eat sushi because they don’t like raw fish. Well, first off, while sushi does often incorporate fish (often raw), sushi is actually the rice. Sashimi, on the other hand, is raw fish… and, when prepared safely, it is very delicious.

I was writing about sushi pizza earlier this week and I realize that I kind of just blazed through my description of sashimi, what it is, where to find it, and what to look for, etc. In fact, when first conceptualizing this post, I thought “do I just tell everyone how to cut the fish? That’s not a really great post…” so a very simplified guide to sashimi and sushi basics was born!

“Where did you get your sushi grade fish?”

In my sushi pizza post, I wrote:

“Note: Please (please please please) ensure you follow all Health Canada, FDA, [whatever country you are from] guidelines on fish. Through my research (mixed with anecdotal evidence from friends) – which blew my mind – I discovered there is no overarching, universal standard or process for “sushi grade” fish. (Generally, sushi-grade has to do with flash-freezing (-40-80°C) for [some period of time] in order to kill any parasites that like to hang around).“

A good rule of thumb is that if it doesn’t say “sushi grade”, it probably isn’t.

I get my fish from my closest asian store, which happens to be an awesome Korean Supermarket – the only one in the area, which is super handy.

The butcher/fish-equivalent-to-a-butcher will know if they have sushi grade fish in stock – but just remember, without the universal standard, that’s kind of up for interpretation by suppliers. I’ve never had any trouble with anything market “sushi-grade”, so go with your gut (or suffer later).

California Roll and Salmon (sake) sashimi

Your Sushi & Sashimi glossary

Sushi Rice – short grain white rice, mixed with (mostly) rice vinegar and sugar. Recipe here!
Nigiri – Sushi rice ball and sashimi or other on top
Sake – salmon sashimi
Maguro – tuna
Katsuo – bonito/skipjack
Toro – belly of tuna
Ahi – type of tuna
Hotate – scallops
Ebi – Prawn
Ika – squid
Unagi – eel
Goma – sesame seed
Gohan – rice
Shoyu – soy sauce… also, fun fact. Kikkoman, worldwide, is known as the top standard for soy sauce.

Nori – dried laver seaweed (I learned the word for this in Korean is Kim… hence kimbap =~ sushi)
“Immitation crab” – pollock. Looks and feels just like crab, but none of the shell. Crab: no crab required.
Beni shoga – pickled ginger
AYCE – All You Can Eat
…and many more!

For more ideas on sushi and what to make, check out our SUSHI HOW-TO!

Cut, cut, cut again.

Cut wet

When cutting sushi (rolls, specifically), always use a wet, sharp knife when cutting through rice and nori. Don’t believe me? Just try dry cutting 🙂 Simply keep a bowl or dish of water next to the cutting board and nicely wet your super sharp knife between each cut (or each roll, at minimum). This makes a WORLD of difference.

Cut against the grain

You’ll get nicer looking sashimi if your cuts go against the grain… you want those beautiful lines on your salmon, you don’t that stringy feel in your surfclam… looks better and feels better… and we’re all about making things look good here at homecookedfeast.com!

Cut from almost frozen

When cutting sashimi, if not already frozen, throw the fish into the freezer for 15 minutes to harden it up. The fish flesh is very soft, so freezing will prevent any crushing or flakiness. Of course, use your brain, exercise caution and don’t cut a rock hard piece of first.

Cut from frozen, or your fish will flake off like this… wet, sharp knife would also help.

It’s not technically sashimi anymore…but it’s super tasty!

It’s not technically sashimi anymore once it’s cooked, but if you want to blow your own mind, torch some salmon or tuna sashimi before eating. So GOOD! (blow torch pun intended)