1. Sashimi and its accessories.
1. Material and shape of sashimi. The most commonly used material for sashimi is fish, mostly marine fish. Common ones are tuna, salmon (salmon), snapper, flounder, bonito, anchovy, bass, mullet, etc. There are also freshwater fish such as carp and crucian carp. In ancient times, carp was the top grade of sashimi. However, sashimi is not limited to fish, and the materials used are very wide, including snails (including snail meat, oyster meat and fresh shellfish), shrimps (a red sweet shrimp) and crabs, sea cucumbers and sea urchins, chicken (sasami, tender chicken breast), and even precious venison and horse meat that we can't imagine. Is this the end of it? No, there is actually a plant called "Amorphophallus konjac" called "jǔ ruò". As for the early days, it is said that there are vegetables, which can also be used as sashimi materials.
Further, even the sashimi of fish, besides sashimi made from ordinary fish, sashimi made from some special fish, such as octopus, squid, cuttlefish and whale, are also common materials. Whales can be sliced into thick fillets, but octopus, squid and cuttlefish can't be sliced into fillets, but they can be cut into fish pieces that are not too thin by using their own bodies, and of course they can also be counted as fillets. In addition to fillets, there are whole fish, and some small micro-fish, which are delicious sashimi if eaten raw or alive. In addition to fish, there are raw caviar, which can also be sashimi. As for the raw shark fin eaten by Hong Kong people, it is also a kind of sashimi in the eyes of the Japanese, and the reference must be translated by sashimi.
The shape of sashimi is nothing more than pieces, blocks and strips, generally depending on the material. The delicate fish can be sliced into thin slices, which is also more advanced. Some big fish, with thick meat, are cut into thick slices (almost called "pieces") or small strips. The skins of these fish are generally removed, but some fish keep their skins. For example, a kind of sashimi (called "deer's scorpion is used for cooking", and its practice is called "burning frost for cooking") is poured with hot water on snapper. As for octopus, it can only be cut into different pieces according to the body shape of each part. There are sashimi, such as oysters, snail meat, sea urchins, inch-long small fish and roe, which can be eaten whole without a sharp knife.
From the above, we can translate it into "sashimi" as far as its usual situation is concerned. After all, raw fish and thin slices are the most common forms. This kind of translation is "not far away, though it misses".
2. Number of sashimi, condiments and containers. Besides the food itself, the characteristics of sashimi can also be observed from three aspects: quantity, seasoning and utensils.
The amount of sashimi is not too large, only a small part of a meal. The initial reason is that sashimi is more expensive, and it has become a rule in the future to show its identity.
There are several kinds of condiments for sashimi: soy sauce, horseradish paste (light green, similar to mustard, called wasabi in Japanese), vinegar, Jiang Mo, radish paste and wine (a kind of "fried wine"). When eating animal sashimi, the first two are almost necessary, while the last two depend on different regions, hobbies and restaurant characteristics. Wine and vinegar were almost necessary in ancient times. In some places, a kind of soy sauce with mustard/mustard paste is used when eating bonito (katsuo). When eating carp, crucian carp and ayu, add mustard seed paste, vinegar, miso (Chinese character for miso) and even pepper powder.
The utensils used to hold sashimi must be shallow dishes, but now they are generally ceramic shallow dishes with various shapes. According to the different texture and shape of the vessel and the different slice cutting and placement, there can be various names.
At present, the more common kinds of sashimi in China are: red silver carp, salmon, tuna, snapper (Ghanaian fish), swordfish, lobster, reed shrimp and so on.
Sashimi is not always completely raw, and some sashimi dishes will be slightly heated, such as:
(a) charcoal baking:
The belly meat of tuna is slightly baked by charcoal fire, and the fat ester of fish belly is baked to make it emit fragrance, and then immersed in ice and sliced.
(2) Hot water scalding:
After slightly scalding fresh fish in hot water, soak it in ice water, let it cool rapidly, take out the slices, and it will present a sashimi with a cooked surface but raw inside, which will have another flavor in taste and taste.
Sashimi dishes usually appear in set meals or table dishes, and can also be used as appetizers, side dishes or a la carte dishes.
The name of the sashimi.
1. Early name of sashimi. Sashimi was produced at least at the end of the 14th century and has become quite popular. The word "namasu" was first used to summarize sashimi and similar foods. "Preserved" refers to raw shredded fish and shredded pork, and also refers to shredded fish and shredded pork soaked in vinegar. Sashimi (sashimi) only refers to a cooking technique of "Yi" at that time. It was only after soy sauce was introduced into Japan and widely used that "sashimi" developed into a name similar to the current sashimi.
2. The writing form of sashimi. The word "sashimi" is written in the form of training Chinese characters; In ancient times, pseudonyms were often used to write (for example, Diary on the Palace of Imperial Soup, October 1st, 15th year of civilization, namely 1483). The first two syllables sashi are now written with "thorn", which is completely taken for granted. At first, the writing method was not stable. In ancient times, "finger-pointing, poor body, poor taste, poor mark, thorn and bow" were used, and the pronunciation was sashimi. More people used "finger-pointing" to write (see "The Story of Suzuka", which should last for six years, that is, AD 1399). The pronunciation of "finger" is also sashi；; Later, I thought it had nothing to do with "finger", but moved the knife, so I found the "thorn" next to the vertical knife, so I interpreted sashi as "cutting the platter" and "cutting it and setting it up". This is indeed a bit of a vulgar etymology. The last syllable mi is often written with "body", which means meat. As for writing with "taste", it is obviously a matter of course to expect "sound" to generate meaning.
3. Different names of sashimi. "Sashimi" was originally the name of kanto region, and sometimes it is also called "uchimi" ("beating the body", which means covering) and "tsukurimi" ("making the body", which means platter. It is a title of Kansai, which is generally simply called tsukuri；; Also known as tsukuritoiu).
As for the word "sashimi", there are many phonetic variations in Japanese dialects, such as sashin and shyashin in Toyama Prefecture; Sasumi in Bazhang Island; Shyashimi in Shizuoka Prefecture and Tottori Prefecture.
The etymology of "sashimi". It is now known that the word sashimi (sashimi) came into being during the Muromachi period in Japan (1392-1573). There are many theories about the origin of this word:
One explanation is that "sashimi" is the transliteration of tachimi. Tachi is the name of Japanese Dao. ("Yan Yuan Ladder")
One explanation is that "sashimi" means "going left". (Evening Essay) The pronunciation of "Left" is sa; The pronunciation of "Jin" is shin. Toyama Prefecture just pronounced "sashimi" as sashin.
The general explanation is: "thorn" means cutting into small pieces or thin slices, or it means cutting and putting it into a platter. As for "body", it is mostly interpreted as meat.
Another explanation is: "thorn" means stringing together, named after stringing fish gills; And "body" is the name of gills.
In addition, "sashimi" is interpreted as a covering, which is named because sliced fish can cover it when making sushi.
19541February 2 1 day Guo Moruo once published "On Sashimi" in Asahi Shimbun. Guo believes that sashimi comes from the "three infiltration" of Chinese. The so-called three infiltration may be to eat sashimi with soy sauce, vinegar and ginger juice. He said: the pronunciation of samsham is sashimi because the Japanese can't nasal. Just as the Japanese pronounce "kam" as ama and "am" as yami. Unfortunately, so far, no specific materials have been found to support his statement.
What is more valuable is the textual research of Japanese Yasutaro Yasuda in the Schedule of Tiansunzu. He pointed out that "meat" is called sich in Suman language in Malay, sach in Sakay language and man in Repucha language in Himalayan region. Sich,sach can be associated with sashi in sashimi, and man can be associated with mi in sashimi. He believes that there are sources of Japanese sashi and mi in these two languages.