Japan. Sashimi as a preparation is documented from the Muromachi period (14th-16th centuries). The yanagiba knife was developed specifically for the technique in the Edo period. The practice of eating raw fish — so counterintuitive in most cultures — is made safe by Japan's meticulous fresh fish supply chains and the historical use of soy sauce and wasabi as antimicrobial condiments.
Sashimi is raw fish or seafood, sliced with absolute precision and served with wasabi and soy. The knife is everything. The angle of the cut changes the texture. The thickness changes the flavour. The species dictates the appropriate cut. There is no sauce to hide behind, no batter, no heat treatment — the fish is completely exposed.
- Peruvian tiradito (thinly sliced raw fish with acidity — the Nikkei-influenced South American evolution); Korean hoe (raw fish served with chogochujang — the Korean version of sashimi); Hawaiian poke (chopped raw fish with sesame and soy — a more casual, chunked version).
Daiginjo sake (the most refined grade, with fruit-forward floral notes) served chilled at 10-12C — the delicate sake does not compete with the delicate fish. Alternatively, chilled Chablis from Burgundy, whose oyster-shell mineral quality mirrors the oceanic character of the best sashimi.