Sashimi a Japanese term for a dish of sliced raw fish. The word is derived from sashi (to pierce) and mi (flesh), with no element specifying fish or seafood; and similar techniques can be used to produce dishes called sashimi chicken or beef, but these are rarities by comparison with the ubiquitous fish sashimi. Tsuji (1980) has declared sashimi to be ‘the crowning glory of the formal meal’ in Japan (by which he does not mean that it comes at the end, for it is usually served at an early stage), and emphasizes that its preparation is not just a matter of choosing supremely fresh fish but also of taking into account the seasons at which the various species are at their best.
