How did sashimi come about
When it comes to the origin of sashimi, we have to go back to the Zhou Dynasty in China
When King Xuan of the Zhou Dynasty began to eat sashimi, there was a word in ancient China that specifically referred to raw fish and chopped meat, which could be eaten directly
China had already had sashimi (chopped fish) recorded as early as during the Zhou Dynasty, and the earliest record of this was in the fifth year of the Zhou Emperor Xuan's reign (823 B.C.E.). An inscription on an excavated bronze vessel, the Ruoxi A Plate, states that the Zhou division met the long-snout tribe at Peng Nga (in present-day Baishui County, Shaanxi Province) and returned home in triumph. General Yin Jifu gave a private banquet to Zhang Zhong and other friends, and the main dish was roasted turtle with slices of raw carp. Poetry. Xiao Ya. June" recorded this incident: "drink the friends, gun turtle chopped carp", "chopped carp" is raw carp. Rituals" and: "chopping, spring with onions, autumn with mustard", "Analects" in the chopping food "shall not be its sauce does not eat" account, so the pre-Qin era of chopped fish when the addition of onions, mustard sauce to seasoning. Mengzi. The "heart" also mentioned chopped fish.
Sashimi was introduced to Japan during the Tang Dynasty
Besides Buddhism, sashimi was also introduced to Japan
Just as poetry reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty, so did sashimi. Unlike Japanese sashimi, which is often made from sea fish, the Tang used a lot of freshwater fish to make sashimi. In addition to sea bass, which was often mentioned in the stories of Zhang Han of Jin, carp, bream, bream, and crucian carp were also used. Strangely enough, whales were considered by the Tang people to be the best material for sashimi. Han Yu's poem "if the giant fishing line can be expected, and son *** full of chopped whale", I do not know whether someone in the Tang Dynasty tasted it, or it is just a legend.
Today's people are marveling at the aesthetics of Japanese cuisine, that's because we do not have the opportunity to appreciate the Tang Dynasty people eating sashimi, absolutely a feast for the eyes! In the Tang Dynasty, sashimi was cut differently from today's Japanese cuisine, sometimes as thin as a snowflake, sometimes as a fillet, and the process of cutting chopped fish was a kind of performance with high ornamental value. Although there was no way to leave images at that time, poets used words to make the best notes. For example, Wang Changling's "Green fish chopped in the snow", Du Fu's "Flying snow without sound", Xiang Si's "Chopped meat in a dish like snow for fear of the wind", Bai Juyi's "Chopped meat in a dish like snow", Bai Juyi's "Chopped meat in a dish like snow", Bai Juyi's "Chopped meat in a dish like snow". chopping long draw brocade strands" ...... closed eyes imagine, a sword after the shadow, the eyes are presented as thin as cicada wings sashimi platter, such as snowflakes such as silk satin, think about it, stunned expression there are wood!
Why do we like to eat raw seafood?
Sliced raw fish is a hot favorite, while raw poultry, beef or pork is hard to swallow. But few people wonder why that is?
Ole Mouritsen, a biophysicist, says a big reason is gravity -- or the minimal role gravity plays in the sea.
"Fish are quite soft, you can put your finger right through their muscles," he said, "and you try again with a piece of chicken or beef, and it definitely won't work. The muscles of fish are very different from those of land animals." Why? Because fish live a "lazier" life than land animals. Fish float in the water all the time, so their muscles don't have to fight gravity for long periods of time. Fish don't have to bear their own weight, so their muscle fibers are thinner and less robust than those of land animals." The connective tissue used to attach the muscles is equally soft and weak. What is the result of such characteristics? Raw fish flesh is silky smooth, while cooked fish flesh is light and airy. In contrast, land animals - such as humans - need to be on their feet all the time, so our muscle fibers are denser, stronger and more robust. As a result, land animal meat is tough and hard to chew when uncooked - and it doesn't taste good. Cooking softens the connective tissue in the meat and improves its texture (it also makes it juicy and flavorful).
This is actually quite simple to say
Sashimi isn't always raw
Sashimi isn't always completely raw; some sashimi dishes require a bit of heating, such as steaming and grilling, as bonito sashimi is grilled. Large sea crabs are also roasted over charcoal: tuna belly meat is slightly roasted over charcoal (the belly fat is roasted to give off flavor), then dipped into ice, and then sliced; hot water immersion: raw fish is slightly scalded with hot water, then dipped into icy water for rapid cooling, and then sliced, which means that the surface is cooked, but the interior is raw, and the taste and texture of the fish is naturally a different sensation.
Sashimi should be eaten
Sashimi should be eaten from the relatively light raw materials, usually in the following order: arctic shellfish, octopus, mussels, red shellfish, scallops, sweet shrimp, sea urchin, squid, tuna, salmon, swordfish. A lot of people mistakenly believe that eating sashimi dipped in wasabi puree is for sterilization, but it is not - it is just to better mobilize the original flavor of the sashimi. It is important to note that we should never use chopsticks to stir the soy sauce and wasabi paste in the small plate when eating sashimi, as the authentic Japanese consider this to be an impolite dining gesture and a sign that we do not know how to properly taste sashimi. When a plate of sashimi is placed in front of you, the first thing that strikes you is the beauty of the shape, so wait until all the diners have finished enjoying it before you start eating. First, we put an empty plate and a small dish with soy sauce in front of us, put a piece of sashimi on the empty plate with chopsticks, put an appropriate amount of wasabi on top of the sashimi, fold the sashimi to cover the wasabi, dip it in the soy sauce, and then pick it up and bring it to our mouths. At the beginning, we can easily taste three flavors: the original flavor of the fish, the freshness of the soy sauce, and the aroma of the wasabi (a pungent, spicy, choking taste). As you continue to chew, the fish becomes more and more chewy and crumbly, and your mouth feels full of flavor, the sasimi becomes a complex flavor. Wassabi has a strong odor, like eating a watermelon with sandy flesh, and has a "sandy" feeling, spicy and fragrant at the same time. The mixture of aroma, sweetness, sand, saltiness and spiciness is naturally very wonderful.
Things to keep in mind when eating sashimi
1. Elderly people, those with weak stomachs and resistance should eat less. If you eat more not fresh sashimi, light vomiting and diarrhea gastroenteritis, heavy fever, weak resistance, may also cause sepsis, the elderly is not often eat, if you want to eat really have to pick the better environmental hygiene store. 2. infants, pregnant women eat less deep-sea fish. In Europe and the United States, pregnant women's manuals are clearly written, pregnant women are not suitable to eat deep-sea fish, such as swordfish, tuna, etc., due to the accumulation of the food chain, the amount of heavy metals is therefore more, and is afraid of affecting fetal brain development, in addition to the heavy metal hazards, infants and young children are the first to bear the brunt of it.3. Freshwater fish parasites are a big risk is best not to eat. Freshwater fish due to the freshwater river more parasites, resulting in freshwater fish sashimi brewing worm crisis, so should try not to eat.
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