List of raw fish dishes
This article is about raw fish or shellfish. It includes 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).
Raw fish dishes
Name | Image | Origin | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Carpaccio | Italy | Very thin slices of marinated swordfish, tuna, or other large fish (a variant of the more common beef carpaccio) | |
Ceviche | Disputed | Marinated raw fish dish | |
Crudo | Italy | Raw fish dressed with olive oil, sea salt, and citrus. | |
E'ia Ota | Tahiti | Raw tuna in lime and coconut milk | |
Esqueixada | Catalan | Salad based on raw cod, tomato and black olives. | |
Gravlax | Nordic | Raw 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 Ikan | Maluku, Indonesia | Gohu 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. | |
Hinava | Malaysia | A 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. | |
Hoe | Korea | Raw seafood slices typically served with either soy-sauce or hot pepper paste based dipping sauce. | |
Kelaguen | Mariana Islands | ||
Kilawin | Philippines | Marinated raw fish similar to ceviche. It is generally marinated in a local vinegar (e.g., coconut, cane, or palm vinegar) and/or local citrus such as kalamansi or sometimes lime. Some regions add a little coconut milk to the marinade. | |
Koi pla | Thailand | Minced or finely chopped raw fish in spicy salad. The most popular raw fish dish in Isan. | |
Kokoda | Fiji | Appetiser or side dish of any white fish. A common staple. | |
Kuai | China | Finely 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.[2] | |
Lakerda | Turkey | Pickled 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 |
Laos Thailand |
A Lao and Thai salad of raw freshwater river fish mixed with lime, cilantro, mint, scallions, roasted rice, chilis | |
Namerō | Japan, Bōsō Peninsula | Finely chopped raw fish mixed with spices and spread thin | |
'Ota 'ika | Tonga | Raw fish dish typically made with coconut cream, tomatoes, lemon and spring onions. | |
Poke | Hawaii | Raw fish salad | |
Sashimi | Japan | Sliced raw seafood. Dipped in soy sauce and wasabi before eating. | |
Soused herring (maatjes or matjes) | Netherlands | New season herring soaked in a mild preserving liquid | |
Stroganina | Siberia | A dish of the indigenous people of northern Arctic Siberia made from raw thin sliced frozen fish.[3] | |
Tiradito | Peru | Variant of ceviche influenced by sashimi | |
Tuna tartare | United States[4] | Minced raw tuna dish | |
Umai | Malaysia | A closely similar dish like the hinava, popular with the Melanau community in Sarawak. | |
Xato | Catalan | Raw cod, anchovies and tuna fish with escarole, arbequinas olives, and "romesco" sauce. | |
Yusheng | Singapore | Raw fish salad |
Health concerns
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.[9][10]
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.[11]
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.
References
- (Ruhlman 2005, pp. 51–52)
- 江 (Chiang), 雅茹 (Ya-ju) (2010-05-01), 詩經:飲食品類研究 (The foods and Beverages in the Book of Odes), 印書小舖, ISBN 978-986-6659-45-4
- "Stroganina: Frozen Sashimi of the Russian Arctic". roadsandkingdoms.com. 4 April 2012.
- Robbins, Katie. "The Man Who Invented Tuna Tartare". theatlantic.com.
- For Chlonorchiasis: Public Health Agency of Canada > Clonorchis sinensis - Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) Retrieved on April 14, 2009
- For Anisakiasis: WrongDiagnosis: Symptoms of Anisakiasis Retrieved on April 14, 2009
- For Diphyllobothrium: MedlinePlus > Diphyllobothriasis Updated by: Arnold L. Lentnek, MD. Retrieved on April 14, 2009
- For symptoms of diphyllobothrium due to vitamin B12-deficiency University of Maryland Medical Center > Megaloblastic (Pernicious) Anemia Retrieved on April 14, 2009
- "''Parasites in Marine Fishes'' University of California Food Science & Technology Department Sea Grant Extension Program". Seafood.ucdavis.edu. 1990-08-07. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
- Vaughn M. Sushi and Sashimi Safety Archived 2008-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- Deardorff, TL; ML Kent (1989-07-01). "Prevalence of larval Anisakis simplex in pen-reared and wild-caught salmon (Salmonidae) from Puget Sound, Washington". Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 25 (3): 416–419. doi:10.7589/0090-3558-25.3.416. PMID 2761015. Archived from the original (abstract) on 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2008-03-03.