How to Cut Sashimi: See How Easily You Can Cook Sashimi and Sushi This Way

When you slice your sashimi or sushi beautifully,

You need to pay attention to…

The size and shape of the cut,

The direction of the streaks(the white line of sashimi),

And how you put the slices of fish on the plate.

1. Have you sliced fish for sashimi or sushi?

You should really like sashimi because you are reading this article.

Slicing fish sounds really easy and simple, 

But when the fish block is really in front of you,

You might think…

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

2. The quality of your sashimi depends on your knowledge

Knowing this secret, you can enhance the taste of the fish.

The texture of the fish in your mouth,

The look of the beautiful and fresh cut of sashimi,

When you eat sashimi, you use the 5 senses.

Taste, look, texture, flavor, and even sound.

There are some ways to slice fish depending on the purpose.

Any Pokemon fans?

3. A block of fish is Eevee

Eevee can evolve into Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon etc..

You can turn the block of fish into,

Hira zukuri, sogi zukuri, usuzukuri, and slicing for sushi

Want to know what they are?

[image of hira zukuri]

1. Hira zukuri is for…

Large, thick, and soft fish.

Like tuna, salmon, bonito, and yellowtail.

Usually, blocks from these fish have constant shapes.

It means you can make the first slice and the 10th slice exactly the same without any tricks.

[image of sogi zukuri]

2. Sogi zukuri is for…

Smaller white meat fish like sea ​​bream, flounder, and sea bass.

Unlike tuna and salmon, these fish are thinner and smaller.

This means their blocks have the shape of fish.

There is back meat, tail meat, and collar meat…

All together in one block.

 It is impossible to slice sashimi in consistent shapes.

In order for all the slices to have the same size and shape,

You need to adjust the angle of the cut.

3. Usuzukuri is for…

Fugu and kawahagi(thread-sail filefish).

“Usu” means thin in Japanese.

Usuzukuri is good for tough or chewy fish.

Because it can make really thin slices.

4. Slicing for sushi is for

Sushi

Duh!

It is longer than sashimi slices.

Before you learn how to make them, you need to learn…

4. Basic idea of cutting sashimi

1. Place the fish block on the edge of the cutting board

By doing so, you can avoid your hand touching the cutting board.

It makes slicing the fish easier.

2. Place the fish block in the right direction

You put the thinner edge to the front,

And thicker edge to the back.

Doing this makes the shape of the slice beautiful.

3. You start slicing from the heel of the knife

And finish slicing at the tip of the knife.

Keep pulling the knife once you start.

Doing this makes the cut of the slice sharp and fresh.

Remember not to use a knife like a saw.

If you do, it will ruin the cut.

You need to slice the fish with one move.

4. If the block isn’t thick enough, you need to slice it diagonally.

Doing this makes the size of the cut bigger.

5. Place the slices on the dish this way 

Place more slices in the back left, and place fewer slices in the front right.

And wasabi goes in the right front corner of the dish.

This way, the presentation of sashimi looks beautiful.

And it is easy to eat.

Remember:

This is for serving a right-handed person.

If you know you are serving a left-handed person,

You need to reverse the presentation.

It is very considerate, right?

Basic idea of placing sashimi is that taller ones go back, and shorter ones go to the front.

5. How to do hira zukuri

If you are right handed,

You start slicing the block from the right.

The thickness is about 1 cm (0.4in).

After slicing, send the slice to the right using your knife.  

For smaller fish, you need to place the skin side of the meat on the top.

And another thing:

Especially for soft meat fish like tuna and salmon,

You need to be aware of the direction of the white line in the meat.

These white streaks are connective tissue.

And they are between the fish meat.

If you use a knife in the wrong direction, 

The fish meat will fall apart.

[illustration of the line]

Remember:

Slice sashimi along the direction of the line.

Do not slice it going against the line.

6. How to do sogi zukuri

When you do sogi zukuri, you put the skin side of the meat on the bottom.

You start slicing from the left to right.

[gif]

At the end of slicing, increase the angle of the knife.

So the shape will look beautiful.

You also need to adjust the knife angle in order for all the slices to have the same size.

Sashimi, which is sogi zukuri, is usually thinner than hira zukuri.

[folding sashimi illustration]

So when you place sogi zukuri, it is better to fold some part of the slice.

7. How to do usuzukuri

You start slicing from the left side for usuzukuri too.

But, when you do usuzukuri, you put the skin side of the meat on the top.

The slice is around 2mm(1/16 Inch) thick.

The angle of the knife should be really low,

So you can slice a nice size of sashimi.

In the end, you need to change the angle high to make the slice look beautiful.

8. How to slice sashimi for sushi

When you slice sashimi for sushi, you put the skin side of the meat on the bottom.

And start cutting from the tail side.

[diagonal illustration]

In order to make the slice long, you need to cut the block diagonally.

And in the end, change the knife angle high.

A slice for sushi and sogi zukuri is kind of similar, but the size is different.

Size of a slice for sushi is…

6cm(2.5in) x 3cm(1.2in)

About the author