If you ask what the representative cuisine of Japan is, some people will definitely say ramen, sushi, sashimi. Especially sashimi, because Japan is a small island surrounded by the sea, there are many seafood, and the most common fish in the market is a variety of fish, and the price is cheaper than vegetables and fruits.
If you have been to Japan, a meal arranged by the tour group will definitely have sashimi, taste the freshest fish, dipped in soy sauce wasabi, chew the taste of the fish, and the fresh sweetness naturally spreads out in the mouth. If you don't want to waste it, some friends will also consider whether to eat the side dishes.
You'll also find that the sashimi platter is also very distinctive. The most interesting thing is that the Japanese like to put a chrysanthemum on the sashimi plate. The Japanese even sell miniature yellow chrysanthemums for plating, packing them in boxes, and when needed, they pick up one with tweezers and dot it on sashimi.
So the question is, the chrysanthemums on the sashimi, will you eat them? The Japanese variety show made a special program to investigate whether Japanese people will eat this small chrysanthemum when they eat sashimi. The result is that 99% of people do not use chrysanthemums as food, but only as decorations.
In fact, this small golden chrysanthemum is a specially cultivated edible chrysanthemum, the small chrysanthemum. This chrysanthemum can not only be eaten, but also has a professional way to eat, the petals of the chrysanthemum are torn off by hand and placed in soy sauce, and the calyx inside should not be eaten, which has a bitter taste.
When sashimi is dipped in soy sauce, the fragrance of chrysanthemum will be soaked in soy sauce, and the petals will stick to the fish meat to be eaten together, and you can better appreciate the fragrance of chrysanthemum. Therefore, this small chrysanthemum is not only decorative, but also one of the secrets to increase the flavor of sashimi.
In addition to chrysanthemum, the most common combination with sashimi is the cut radish, which is called つま in Japanese. Unlike Xiao Ju, radish is more acceptable to the public, especially when eating rich fish, such as salmon fat, with a bite of white radish shredded, can alleviate the greasy feeling.
At the same time, shredded white radish also has the effect of maintaining the moisture of sashimi, prolonging the freshness of fish, promoting digestion and refreshing taste. When eating sashimi, there is no problem in eating shredded white radish, but if you only treat the shredded radish as a pure ornament, it does not matter if you do not eat it.
Perilla leaves are a side dish used in high-grade sashimi. Perilla itself is one of the spices with a unique and intense fragrance. There are two functions in the sashimi platter, one is to eat together wrapped in fish meat, and the other is to isolate different fish meat and prevent the smell of fish meat from channeling.
However, due to the relatively expensive cost of perilla leaves, ordinary sashimi generally do not use perilla leaves, but will use plastic leaves instead, imitating the appearance of perilla leaves. If you see a Japanese restaurant with sashimi decorated with shiso leaves, then the sashimi in this shop is at least at the upper middle level.
Now everyone understands that the chrysanthemums, leaves, and white radish that the Japanese put on sashimi are all side dishes with sashimi, which can be eaten or not eaten. Not to commemorate these fish, but to serve the mere service of diners.