List of raw fish dishes explained

Raw fish or shellfish dishes include marinated raw fish (soaked in a seasoned liquid) and raw fish which is lightly cured such as gravlax, but not fish which is fully cured (fermented, pickled, smoked or otherwise preserved).__TOC__

Raw fish dishes

NameImageOriginDescription
Aguachilealign=center MexicoRaw shrimp submerged in lime juice with cucumber, onion, and chiltepín peppers.
Carpaccioalign=center ItalyVery thin slices of marinated swordfish, tuna, or other large fish (a variant of the more common beef carpaccio)
Cevichealign=center PerúMarinated raw fish dish
Crudoalign=center ItalyRaw fish dressed with olive oil, sea salt, and citrus.
E'ia Otaalign=center TahitiRaw tuna in lime and coconut milk
Esqueixadaalign=center CatalanSalad based on raw cod, tomato and black olives.
Gravlaxalign=center NordicRaw salmon, lightly cured in salt, sugar, and dill. Usually served as an appetizer, sliced thinly and accompanied by a dill and mustard sauce with bread or boiled potatoes. Made by fishermen in the Middle Ages, who salted salmon and lightly fermented it by burying it in the sand above the high-tide line. Today it is no longer fermented. Instead the salmon is "buried" in a dry marinade of salt, sugar, and dill, and cured for a few days. As the salmon cures, by the action of osmosis, the moisture turns the dry cure into a highly concentrated brine, which can be used as part of a sauce.[1]
Gohu Ikanalign=center Maluku, IndonesiaGohu Ikan could be made with tuna, skipjack, or grouper. The fish is cut into small pieces. To remove the fishy smell, the fish meat is washed repeatedly until there's no more blood left. After cleaning thoroughly, the fish meat is marinated with salt and citrus juice. The red fish meat will become a bit white. It is then mixed and stirred with sliced onion, rica (a spicy chili), and basil leaves.It has a sour flavor, spicy, with a strong aroma of basil. Roasted and coarsely grounded canary seeds can be used as a flavor enhancer.
Hinavaalign=center MalaysiaA traditional Kadazan-Dusun dish from Sabah. Raw fish (typically firm fleshed white fish) marinated with citrus juice (usually calamansi lime), sliced shallots, julienned ginger and grated dried seed of the bambangan fruit, a species of wild mango found in Borneo. Optional additions include sliced chilli and bitter gourd.
Hoealign=center KoreaRaw seafood slices typically served with either soy-sauce or hot pepper paste based dipping sauce.
Kelaguenalign=center Mariana IslandsChamorro dish derived from the Filipino kinilaw (kilawin). It is generally made with cooked chicken, beef, or liver but can also use raw fish and other seafood.
Kinilawalign=center PhilippinesTraditional pre-colonial marinated dish generally made with raw fish (but can also be made with other raw seafood, cooked meat, or vegetables). It is generally marinated in a local vinegar (e.g., coconut, cane, or palm vinegar); native citruses such as calamansi, dayap (key lime), and biasong; and other sour acidic fruits like bilimbi, green mangoes, and tamarind. Some regions also add coconut milk and astringent bark or fruit extracts to neutralize the fishy taste and the acidity before serving.
Koi plaalign=center ThailandMinced or finely chopped raw fish in spicy salad. The most popular raw fish dish in Isan.
Kokodaalign=center FijiAppetiser or side dish of any white fish. A common staple.
Kuaialign=center ChinaFinely cut strips of raw fish or meat, which was popular and commonly eaten in the early history and dynastic times of China. According to the Book of Rites compiled between 202 BCE–220 CE, kuai consists of small thin slices or strips of raw meat, which are prepared by first thinly slicing the meat and then cutting the thin slices into strips. In modern times, the dishes are more often referred to as "raw fish slices". Commonly used fish in ancient times include carp and mandarin fish, but salmon is also used in modern times. Sauces were an essential part of kuai dishes, with green onions used for preparation of sauces in spring and mustard seed used for sauces in autumn. According to many classical texts, kuai served without sauces was deemed inedible and should be avoided.
Lakerdaalign=center TurkeyPickled bonito dish eaten as a mezze in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire. Lakerda made from one-year-old bonito migrating through the Bosphorus is especially prized.
Lap pa
Larb pla
align=center Laos
Thailand
A Lao and Thai salad of raw freshwater river fish mixed with lime, cilantro, mint, scallions, roasted rice, chilis
Lawa' Balealign=center South Sulawesi, IndonesiaCommonly associated with the Bugis people. The meal features fresh raw fish cured in vinegar and citrus juices, including bilimbi and unriped mango; as well as being spiced with grated coconut, garlic and chilies.
Lomi oioalign=center HawaiiFinely minced or pureed raw fish mixed with salt. Seaweed, onions, limpets, shrimp, tomatoes, and chili are optional.
Namerōalign=center Japan, Bōsō PeninsulaFinely chopped raw fish mixed with spices and spread thin
'Ota 'ikaalign=center TongaRaw fish dish typically made with coconut cream, tomatoes, lemon and spring onions.
Pokealign=center HawaiiRaw fish salad
Sashimialign=center JapanSliced raw seafood. Dipped in soy sauce and wasabi before eating.
Soused herring (maatjes)align=center NetherlandsNew season herring soaked in a mild preserving liquid
Stroganinaalign=center RussiaA dish of the indigenous people of northern Arctic Siberia made from raw thin sliced frozen fish.[2]
Tiraditoalign=center PeruVariant of ceviche influenced by sashimi
Tuna tartarealign=center DisputedMinced raw tuna dish
Umaialign=center MalaysiaA closely similar dish like the hinava, popular with the Melanau community in Sarawak.
Xató or Xatonadaalign=center CatalanRaw cod, anchovies and tuna fish with escarole, arbequinas olives, and "romesco" sauce.
Yushengalign=center Disputed Raw fish salad

Health concerns

See also: Fish diseases and parasites.

Parasites in fish are a natural occurrence and common. Though not a health concern in thoroughly cooked fish, parasites are a concern when consumers eat raw or lightly preserved fish such as sashimi, sushi, ceviche, and gravlax. The popularity of such raw fish dishes makes it important for consumers to be aware of this risk. Raw fish should be frozen to an internal temperature of −20 °C (−4 °F) for at least 7 days to kill parasites. It is important to be aware that home freezers may not be cold enough to kill parasites.[3] [4]

Traditionally, fish that live all or part of their lives in fresh water were considered unsuitable for sashimi due to the possibility of parasites (see sashimi article). Parasitic infections from freshwater fish are a serious problem in some parts of the world, particularly Southeast Asia. Fish that spend part of their life cycle in brackish or freshwater, like salmon are a particular problem. A study in Seattle, Washington showed that 100% of wild salmon had roundworm larvae capable of infecting people. In the same study farm raised salmon did not have any roundworm larvae.[5]

Parasite infection by raw fish is rare in the developed world (fewer than 40 cases per year in the U.S.), and involves mainly three kinds of parasites: Clonorchis sinensis (a trematode/fluke), Anisakis (a nematode/roundworm) and Diphyllobothrium (a cestode/tapeworm). Infection risk of anisakis is particularly higher in fishes which may live in a river such as salmon (sake) in Salmonidae or mackerel (saba). Such parasite infections can generally be avoided by boiling, burning, preserving in salt or vinegar, or freezing overnight. In Japan it is common to eat raw salmon and ikura, but these foods are frozen overnight prior to eating to prevent infections from parasites, particularly anisakis.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Michael Ruhlman. Brian Polcyn. Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. 17 November 2005. W. W. Norton. 978-0-393-05829-1 . 51–52.
  2. Web site: Stroganina: Frozen Sashimi of the Russian Arctic. 4 April 2012. roadsandkingdoms.com.
  3. Web site: Parasites in Marine Fishes University of California Food Science & Technology Department Sea Grant Extension Program . Seafood.ucdavis.edu . 1990-08-07 . 2011-10-29 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927063512/http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/Pubs/parasite.htm . 2011-09-27 .
  4. http://seafooduniversity.com/?p=16 Vaughn M. Sushi and Sashimi Safety
  5. 25 . 3 . 416–419 . Deardorff . TL . ML Kent . Prevalence of larval Anisakis simplex in pen-reared and wild-caught salmon (Salmonidae) from Puget Sound, Washington . Journal of Wildlife Diseases . 1989-07-01 . 2761015 . 10.7589/0090-3558-25.3.416 . free .