Salmon, tuna and kingfish are the most commonly prepared species of fish for sashimi in Australia.
Did you know that tuna was initially not considered to be sashimi grade? I learnt this from an in-flight magazine during my monthly, 4-hour plane trip across the great island continent, to look after the fishes on the eastern side if the country. I have deviated….
Apparently, in the 1970’s, Japan was sending plane loads of photographic and electronic goods to foreign lands and their planes would return with empty hulls.
How could they take advantage of this situation? The tuna was originally considered only as a sport fish and were not part of the westerners’ diet as they do not have the ‘normal’ white flesh. In 1972, the 1st bluefin tuna was flown across to Japan in a special refrigerated container and sold at the markets.
From then on, the deep red flesh has become a staple on the sashimi menus.
