sashimi

[sah-shee-mee, sah-shee-mee]

noun

Japanese Cooking.

1. raw fish cut into very thin slices.

sashimi

/ ˈsæʃɪmɪ /

noun

1. a Japanese dish of thin fillets of raw fish

Word History and Origins

Origin of sashimi¹

1875–80; < Japanese sashi stabbing + mi ( y ) body (< *mui )

Word History and Origins

Origin of sashimi¹

C19: from Japanese sashi pierce + mi flesh

Example Sentences

Lincoln Park also offers one of the best midday deals in the city: a $38 lunch tasting menu with edamame, spicy tuna crispy rice, sashimi and nigiri, a scallop hand roll, and more.

From Salon

The omakase tower offers a selection of sushi, tuna tartare, spicy tuna crispy rice, sashimi, and rolls — perfect for those who enjoy heavily sauced sushi.

From Salon

When Thomas Tao was a student in New York in the 2010s, he says he rarely came across Chinese fine-dining, but Americans were very willing to pay for, say, Japanese sashimi.

From BBC

A local startup is using artificial intelligence and robotics in an unlikely way: making sashimi and other fish dishes taste better, last longer and more humane.

From Los Angeles Times

My favorite dishes are the truffle sashimi, the mushroom pasta with shrimp added and their baked crab hand rolls.

From Los Angeles Times

When To Use

What’s the difference between sashimi and sushi?

Sashimi and sushi are both dishes you’ll find on the menu of a Japanese restaurant, and you might even order both at once, but they’re not the same thing.Sashimi is raw fish cut into thin slices. Sushi consists of bite-sized pieces of cold, boiled rice, stuffed or topped with various ingredients.The variety of sushi perhaps best-known outside of Japan is called maki (or maki-zushi). It’s made by forming a roll of rice around various fillings, especially vegetables, raw seafood, or a combination, and then wrapping the roll in seaweed and slicing it into small, bite-sized rounds. Another variety, nigiri (or nigiri-zushi), consists of bite-sized pieces of rice topped with raw seafood or something else.In Japanese, the word sushi means “sour rice” (the rice is traditionally moistened with rice vinegar). The word sashimi comes from the Japanese sashi, meaning “pierce” or “stabbing,” and mi, “flesh” or “body.”Many people associate sushi with a raw fish or seafood element, and it often includes these, but not always. It can be filled or topped with many other things—its essential ingredient is rice.Sashimi, on the other hand, is simply thinly sliced raw fish (often accompanied with soy sauce or wasabi). (You may see some non-fish dishes prepared sashimi-style, which typically means they’re sliced thin like sashimi is.)Here’s an example of sashimi and sushi used correctly in a sentence.Example: I love ordering sushi with unusual combinations of ingredients, but sometimes I prefer the simplicity of sashimi.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between sashimi and sushi.