Share Your Table - How to Cut Sashimi, with Brooks Takenaka

Brooks Takenaka and Nelson Aberilla from the Hawaii Seafood Council show how to cut perfect sashimi slices (2:10)

How to Cut Sashimi, with Brooks Takenaka

The right cut for perfect slices

While winter weather conditions haven't boded well for Hawaii's fish supply, spring looks to bring better weather and more fresh fish. And what better way to enjoy their return than with a platter of sashimi—raw and thinly sliced.

Yellowfin and Bigeye tuna, or ahi, are the most popular fish people like to eat as sashimi. And it's easy to see why. Ahi can have a beautiful, translucent, deep red color with firm texture, great flavor, appealing to both the eye and palate. But here in Hawaii, we're blessed with many varieties of fish that are of high enough quality to be eaten raw.

Next time you’re at the fish counter, try some of these varieties on your sashimi platter:

Albacore, tombo ahi

This species is great as sashimi, not as deep red as ahi, but still very good.

Skipjack, aku

An island favorite. Short shelf life. Not available on the mainland.

Blue marlin, kajiki

Commonly used as poke. Adds a nice contrast to red meat sashimi.

Striped marlin, nairagi

Also commonly used as poke. Some have a great orange color.

Spearfish, hebi

Pale color. Not very commonly used as sashimi, but when fresh, it's very good.

Wahoo, ono

Pale color. Can be used as sashimi. Not very common.

Opah, moonfish

Orange to pink color. Has a high fat content. Beautiful contrast with white meat and red meat sashimi.

SYT Picks

Seafood from Hawaiian waters is sustainably caught and safely managed from hook to market.

A note on the knives used in the video

The large knife is used to cut larger pieces of fish. It's normally used to "break down" the fish from whole to quarters and eventually to fillets. Once the sashimi blocks are cut, Brooks recommends using a smaller, thinner sashimi knife to cut the thin slices.

The Japanese sashimi knife is flat on one side and angled on the other, making it ideal for this type of slicing. You could cut thin slices with the larger knife if there's no choice, but cutting is much easier with the appropriate tool.

And most importantly, whatever knife you use, make sure it's sharp!