Sashimi

 is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
Origin.
The word "sashimi" means "pierced body", i.e. "刺身" = "sashimi", where 刺 し = "sashi" (pierced, stuck) and 身 = "mi" (body, meat). This word dates from the Muromachi period and was possibly coined when the word "切る" = "kiru" (cut), the culinary step, was considered too inauspicious to be used by anyone other than samurai. This word may derive from the culinary practice of sticking the fish's tail and fin to the slices for the purpose of identifying the fish being eaten.
Another possibility for the name is the traditional method of harvesting. ""Sashimi"-grade" fish is caught by individual handline. As soon as the fish is landed, its brain is pierced with a sharp spike, and it is placed in slurried ice. This spiking is called the ikejime process, and the instantaneous death means that the fish's flesh contains a minimal amount of lactic acid. This means that the fish will keep fresh on ice for about ten days, without turning white or otherwise degrading.
Many non-Japanese use the terms "sashimi" and sushi interchangeably, but the two dishes are distinct and separate. Sushi refers to any dish made with vinegared rice. While raw fish is one traditional sushi ingredient, many sushi dishes contain seafood that has been cooked, and others have no seafood at all. "Sashimi" by contrast is always served on its own.
Serving.
"Sashimi" is often the first course in a formal Japanese meal, but it can also be the main course, presented with rice and miso soup in separate bowls. Japanese chefs consider "sashimi" the finest dish in Japanese formal dining and recommend that it be eaten before other strong flavors affect the palate.
The sliced seafood that composes the main ingredient is typically draped over a garnish. The typical garnish is Asian white radish, "daikon", shredded into long thin strands, or single leaves of the herb "shiso" (perilla)
"Sashimi" is popularly served with a dipping sauce (soy sauce) and condiments such as wasabi paste, grated fresh ginger, grated fresh garlic, or ponzu for meat "sashimi", and such garnishes as shiso and shredded daikon radish.
Wasabi paste is sometimes mixed directly into soy sauce as a dipping sauce, which is generally not done when eating sushi (which itself normally includes "wasabi"). A reputed motivation for serving wasabi with "sashimi" (and also "gari", pickled ginger), besides its flavor, is killing harmful bacteria and parasites that could be present in raw seafood. Other garnishes, more common in Japan than overseas, include red water pepper sprouts and a small chrysanthemum . The chrysanthemum, unlike other garnishes, is not intended to be eaten but put as preservative, and in cheap service (such as at supermarkets) may be substituted with a plastic flower.
Preparation.
To highlight the delicate flavor as well as for texture, the chef cuts fish into different thicknesses by variety of the fish, its age and by the season. The "hira-zukuri" cut (literally "flat slice"), is the standard cut for most "sashimi". Typically this style of cut is the size of a domino and thick. Tuna, salmon, and kingfish are most commonly cut in this style. The "usu-zukuri" cut (literally "thin slice"), is an extremely thin, diagonally cut slice that is mostly used to cut firm fish, such as bream, whiting, and flounder. The dimensions of this fish is usually long and wide. The "kaku-zukuri" cut (literally "square slice"), is the style in which "sashimi" is cut into small cubes that are on each side. The "ito-zukuri" cut (literally "thread slice"), is the style in which the fish is cut into fine strips, less than in diameter. The fish typically cut with the "ito-zukuri" style include garfish and squid; squid dish prepared in "ito-zukuri" is also called "ika sōmen" and you dip them in dashi or "men-tsuyu" like eating "sōmen" noodle.
Varieties.
Popular main ingredients for sashimi include:
Some sashimi ingredients, such as octopus, are sometimes served cooked given their chewy nature. Most seafood, such as tuna, salmon, and squid, are served raw. "Tataki" (たたき or 叩き, "pounded") is a type of sashimi that is quickly and lightly seared on the outside, leaving it raw inside.
Less common, but not unusual, sashimi ingredients are vegetarian items, such as yuba (bean curd skin), and raw red meats, such as beef (known as "gyuunotataki)" or horse (known as "basashi)". Chicken "sashimi" (known as "toriwasa)" is considered by some to be a delicacy; the Nagoya kōchin, French "poulet de Bresse" and its American derivative, the blue foot chicken, are favored by many for this purpose, as, besides their taste, they are certified to be free of "Salmonella". Chicken sashimi is sometimes slightly braised or seared on the outside.
Ingredients other than raw fish meat.
Food cut into small pieces and eaten with wasabi and soy sauce may be called sashimi in Japan, including the following ingredients. Like bamboo shoots, the food is enjoyed raw to appreciate the freshness, and producers and farmers offer those sashimi at their properties in top season. Some of the vegetables are enjoyed as thin sliced strips and called sashimi while they resemble fish meat, like avocado as salmon and konnyaku as puffer fish.
Safety.
As a raw food, consuming sashimi can result in foodborne illness when bacteria or parasites are present; for example, anisakiasis is a disease caused by the accidental ingestion of larval nematodes in the family Anisakidae, primarily "Anisakis simplex" but also "Pseudoterranova decipiens". In addition, incorrectly prepared Fugu fish may contain tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin.
Another type of food borne illness that could occur after consuming tainted sashimi is Diphyllobothriasis. This disease is an infection within the intestines that occurs when the tapeworm "Diphyllobothrium latum" is consumed. Common fish such as trout, salmon, pike, and sea bass harbor this parasitic larvae in their muscles. Due to the innovation of the chilled transport system paired with the salmon and trout consumption, an increasing number of cases have been recorded annually in northern Japan due to the spread of this disease.
Traditionally, fish that spend at least part of their lives in brackish or fresh water were considered unsuitable for sashimi because of the possibility of parasites. For example, salmon, an anadromous fish, is not traditionally eaten straight out of the river. A study in Seattle, Washington, showed that all wild salmon had roundworm larvae capable of infecting people, while farm-raised salmon did not have any roundworm larvae. However a study commissioned by the Pew Foundation found that total organic contaminants were consistently and significantly more concentrated in the farmed salmon as a group than in wild salmon.
Freezing is often used to kill parasites. According to European Union regulations, freezing fish at −20 °C (−4 °F) for 24 hours kills parasites. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends freezing at −35 °C (−31 °F) for 15 hours, or at −20 °C (−4 °F) for 7 days.
While Canada does not federally regulate freezing fish, British Columbia and Alberta voluntarily adhere to guidelines similar to the FDA's. Ontario attempted to legislate freezing as part of raw food handling requirements, though this was soon withdrawn due to protests by the industry that the subtle flavors and texture of raw fish would be destroyed by freezing. Instead, Ontario has decided to consider regulations on how raw fish must be handled prior to serving.
Some fish for sashimi are treated with carbon monoxide to keep the flesh red for a longer time in storage. This practice can make spoiled fish appear fresh.
Eating chicken sashimi is a serious food poisoning risk. Despite it being on menus, it is hard to find, and many chefs cook it incorrectly. It is often prepared by cooking or searing for 10 seconds, which is not enough time to kill off harmful bacteria such as campylobacter and salmonella. Chicken sashimi is also often sourced at certain restaurants from the thigh, liver and outer breast, where more harmful bacteria tend to grow.
Environmental concerns.
With the constant amount of fishing, bluefin tuna population rates have been steadily declining. A proposed solution has been farming bluefin tuna in fisheries. Historically, this has posed a problem in that the captive fish are not raised from spawn, but rather from small wild fish that are netted and transported to the farms, mostly in the Mediterranean. However, Japanese scientists have found a way to successfully breed and raise the fish entirely in captivity. Despite this technical accomplishment, this may not lead to a viable solution to maintain a sustainable bluefin population, because chefs and consumers see wild bluefin to be more appetizing, and look down upon farmed bluefin.