Maguro Sashimi (鮪の刺身)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Yanagiba (single-bevel sashimi knife), or the longest very sharp slicing knife you own
• •Clean cutting board reserved for raw fish, or a freshly scrubbed board set on a damp towel
• •Oroshigane wasabi grater, or a fine Microplane
• •Chilled white Hagi or pale green Oribe serving plate
• •Clean damp towel for wiping the blade

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the tuna

   Buy the maguro the day you will serve it, as a trimmed saku block meant for raw eating. Ask the fishmonger what came in today that they would eat raw, then listen. The surface should look moist and clear, not dry at the edges, and it should smell clean and faintly marine, never sour or strongly fishy. Sourcing first, always. No knife will rescue tired fish.

   A raw-fish label is only useful when the shop can tell you how the fish was handled and when it arrived. If the answer is vague, buy something to grill.
2. 2

   Chill the station

   Scrub your hands, knife, and board, then dry them well. Keep the wrapped tuna in the coldest part of the refrigerator until you are ready to cut, and chill the serving plate for ten minutes. Cold flesh slices cleanly and holds its shape. Warm toro smears, and the blade starts dragging instead of parting the fish.

3. 3

   Prepare the tsuma

   Cut the daikon into very fine threads, called tsuma, and soak them in cold water for five minutes. Drain and pat dry until fluffy. Set out the shiso leaves, and grate the wasabi at the last moment. The daikon gives the fish a clean lift off the plate; wet daikon would water the cut faces, and old wasabi loses its fragrance before it reaches the table.

4. 4

   Read the grain

   Unwrap the saku and pat it dry. Look for the faint lines running through the flesh, then turn the block so each slice will cut across those lines, not follow them. For akami, use hira-zukuri, the plain rectangular sashimi cut, about 6 mm thick. For chūtoro and ōtoro, 6 to 8 mm is enough. Short fibers make a tender bite; long fibers make even good tuna feel stringy.

   The grain is not decoration. It tells you where the knife must go, and the teeth will know whether you listened.
5. 5

   Slice in one pull

   Use a yanagiba, the long sashimi knife, or the longest sharp knife you own. Start with the heel of the blade against the tuna and draw toward the tip in one smooth pull, lifting at the end. Don't saw, and don't press straight down. Wipe the blade with a damp towel every few cuts, or after each cut with ōtoro. A clean blade leaves a glossy face on the fish; a dirty or warm one drags fat across it.

   If your knife is too short for one pull, trim the saku smaller before slicing. Match the fish to the tool, and the hand stops fighting.
6. 6

   Plate and serve

   Set a shiso leaf and a small cushion of dry daikon on a white or green plate. Arrange the maguro in odd-numbered groups, from akami to chūtoro to ōtoro if you have more than one cut, and leave at least a third of the plate empty. Put wasabi beside the fish and soy in a separate dipping dish. Serve at once. At the table, touch one edge of a slice to soy; soaking it only hides the tuna you worked to show.

Chef Tips

• •Befriend the fish counter and ask one plain question: what came in today that you'd eat raw? A good seller answers directly. A vague answer is its own answer.
• •Akami is not an apology for toro. It is the clean red center of maguro, and it lets you taste the fish plainly. If you serve all three cuts, move from akami to chūtoro to ōtoro so the fat rises gradually.
• •Keep toro colder than you think necessary. Its fat softens fast, and once it smears on the board the slice loses the clean face you bought it for.
• •Soy and wasabi are companions, not a blanket. Touch the fish lightly to soy, and use wasabi sparingly. If the condiment is louder than the tuna, the plate has lost its nerve.
• •Raw seafood is not a kindness to every guest. If someone has been told to avoid raw fish, make them a cooked dish without fuss. Honesty at the table is part of the cooking.

Advance Preparation

• •Do not slice the maguro ahead. Trim it if needed, then return it tightly wrapped to the refrigerator up to 1 hour before serving; cut it when the rice, soup, and guests are ready.
• •The daikon threads can be cut up to 2 hours ahead and held in cold water. Drain and dry them well before plating, because water on the plate dulls the cut fish.
• •Chill the serving plate and dipping dishes 30 minutes ahead. Cold ware buys you a little calm at the table.
• •If using professionally frozen saku, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator on a tray, still wrapped. Unwrap only when ready to slice, then pat it dry.
• •Fresh wasabi should be grated within 10 minutes of serving. Its fragrance is quick and not patient.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)