SEAFOOD // Sashimi

Sashimi– the art of food

Great sashimi is all about simple, fresh seafood treated with care from selection to serving.

WORDS John Susman

PHOTOGRAPHY Ali Novis/Clean Seas

YOU MIGHT THINK seeking the simplest of charters is not that hard, but finding a venue where a chef truly understands the flavour and texture of seafood is harder than you might imagine.

The art of truly great sashimi requires artists of a rare and understated skill, it requires artisans who are intimate with every element of the catching, handling and preparing of seafood which performs best when served raw.

Frankly, some seafood is best served raw, but not necessarily ALL seafood. This is reflected in the art of sashimi, where the experienced chef knows when to sear, sous or cure just enough to transform the flavour and texture from a single to a three-dimensional experience.

The key lies in the selection, preparation and seasoning, according to the need of the flesh. Sashimi seafood truly is a cuisine where understanding the texture and base flavour of the protein stands above everything else.

My butcher mates in terrestrial proteins may say the same thing — that a grassor grain-fed animal demands different handling or that a chook and a squab require vastly separate preparation.

But in a sector where still over 50 per cent of the supply is wild harvest, I suggest it is seafood which demands the highest level of culinary intellect and palate memory.

It is not only the selection and handling that makes seafood such an interesting protein to work with, but the accompaniments and preparations needed to best showcase flavour that makes seafood so unique when served raw.

Perhaps the science behind the flavour of seafood is worthy of some consideration. The flavour of saltwater fish is a result of its environment. Seawater ranges from 3−3.5 per cent salinity. As American author Harold McGee points out, animals need to keep the total level of dissolved minerals in their cells to around 1 per cent. Sea fish offset the saltiness of their environment by filling their cells with other compounds, namely amino acids and amines, which have their own taste and flavour implications.

Glycine, an amino acid, lends sweetness whereas the glutamic acid present in shellfish, tuna and sardines is ‘savoury and mouth filling’. Many finfish, however, offset the saltwater flowing through their bodies with the relatively flavourless amine Trimethylamine N-oxide which is why they are characterised by sleepinducing descriptors like ‘mild’, ‘sweet’ and ‘delicate’.

It is not only the selection and handling that makes seafood such an interesting protein to work with, but the accompaniments and preparations needed to best showcase flavour.

The sushi master is possibly the best student of the science of flavour in seafood, but it is more a skill in the art of matching flavour and texture that makes them a unique character in the world of seafood preparation. There are some terrific lessons to be learned from the sushi chef and the condiments on his counter.

Wasabi and horseradish are close brothers. Their pungent, metallic, almost radish-like characteristics provide the freshness of focus on your tongue. A sequence of flavour-focusing shocks, much in the way that biting a lime after a shot of tequila, wasabi or horseradish delivers clarity of flavour when applied discreetly to the flesh of oily or white fish.

Soy or shoyu is an invaluable seasoning standard which is fundamental in delivering the explosion of kakushi aji or the umami characteristics of seafood.

Ginger is one of the most universal condiments in sashimi preparations with its sharp almost citrus-like characteristics, delivering a pungent burst used in Japanese cuisine to freshen the palate, ensuring you appreciate the fine flavours of fresh seafood. For the same reason, purists prefer to eat sashimi (and sushi) with chopsticks because the fingers (which are perfectly acceptable to use in Japanese etiquette) might transfer the flavour of one fish to another.

The sushi master considers the flavour and texture of seafood with a level of commitment a sommelier might consider for each wine and their relevance to the wine list.

Start tasting, investigating and recording what you taste when you try seafood and see if you can create a level of appreciation for the myriad flavours and texture in seafood you never knew were there.

Go ahead, think hard and cerebrally about every piece of seafood you try — it makes a world of difference. ■