I think these days, many English speakers know what “sashimi” is, but today I will give you “True of False” quizzes about “sashimi”. Please answer T or F for the following statement.
1.Sashimi has to be made of fish.
2.Sashimi can be something other than fish but has to be seafood.
3.Sashimi has to be raw (uncooked).
4.Sashimi has to be sliced thinly.
5.Sashimi has to be usually eaten with dipping sauce.
The correct answers are: F to Questions 1 to 3 and T to Questions 4 and 5.
Sashimi is usually “thinly sliced fresh raw fillet of fish” but it does not have to be fish or seafood. People eat sashimi of avocado, chicken, beef, bamboo shoots and jelly made of arum root (こんにゃく), etc. In case of chicken and beef sashimi, only the raw meat is called sashimi but in case of bamboo shoots and arum root jelly, they have to be cooked and prepared first! But whenever they call something as “sashimi”, it is sliced thinly and served with a dipping sauce, which is usually soy sauce with or without wasabi but it can also have vinegar and/or ginger.
When I first came to Australia many moons ago, some people believed that sashimi is raw fish eaten as it is (as it has come out of water) without any preparation. I don’t think people these days have that image but if you had that image, please know that sashimi is (supposed to be) a well-prepared dish with care!