Salmon Sashimi

This salmon sashimi is a delicious and light appetizer or dinner preparation. Served with fresh wasabi, ginger, soy sauce or a delicious side of soy yuzo citrus ponzu.

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If you want to know how to prepare salmon sashimi (sake sashimi) or salmon nigiri, you have come to the right place! Sashimi (meaning pierced meat) is thinly sliced raw fish served without rice. Nigiri is served over sushi rice.

Salmon sashimi calories are quite reasonable at only 52 calories per oz. An average serving size of sashimi can range from 5-8 pieces with each piece ranging from 0.5 to 1 oz.

Why this recipe works

• Salmon sashimi is a healthy and light, protein packed appetizer, lunch or dinner option. If you love sushi, you should definitely check out this delicious Sweet Potato Sushi Roll, Salmon Tataki preparation as well as my Vegetable Sushi.
• Preparation requires less than 5 minutes and is a beautiful presentation for your next dinner party (or for you, because you deserve to be fancy!). You can also serve this salmon over sushi rice for some salmon nigiri.
• Soy sauce with wasabi is a standard and delicious preparation. I love to add a squeeze of lime for some extra zing. You can also try a citrus yuzu ponzu sauce brings a tangy and rich umami flavor that works well with the spice of the sliced jalapeno! You might also enjoy a side of Chili Crisp for some extra heat.

Ingredients in salmon sashimi

Salmon Sashimi

• Salmon: Only purchase sushi or sashimi grade salmon. This can be purchased directly from many sushi restaurants. You can also check with your local grocery store. Here in Arizona, I purchase my sushi grade fish from AJ’s Fine Foods at the sushi counter.

Soy Citrus Yuzu Ponzu Sauce

• Soy Sauce: Low sodium or regular soy sauce will be work.
• Ponzu Sauce: You can buy ponzu sauce at many local grocery stores. It will typically be located near the soy sauce. You can also purchase citrus ponzu or lime ponzu on Amazon.
• Garlic (Optional): If you would like to make garlic ponzu sauce, you can add a pinch of pressed or finely minced garlic to your ponzu.

Soy and Wasabi Sauce

• Soy Sauce: Low sodium or regular soy sauce will be work.
• Wasabi: You can buy pre-made wasabi paste at many grocery stores or online. You can also buy wasabi powder which is my favorite because it tastes fresher and more potent. Just add water to the wasabi powder and you have the awesome wasabi that you get in Japanese restaurants. You can also store the wasabi powder in the refrigerator for future use.
• Lemon Juice (Optional): A fresh squeeze of lemon juice brightens this dipping sauce and works well with the fattiness of the salmon.

Optional Garnishes

• Microgreens: Serve your salmon over delicate microgreens for a beautiful and delicious presentation.
• Lemon: Thinly sliced for garnish or squeeze a dash into your soy sauce for some extra tart zing. 
• Wasabi: See notes above.
• Pickled Ginger: If you would like to make your own, you can head over to my Quick Pickled Vegetables recipe which works great to make pickled ginger. You can also buy pickled ginger on Amazon or at most local supermarkets in the Asian section

How to make this recipe

Salmon Sashimi

• Slice salmon fish into thin slices (sashimi style, about ¼ inch thick or your preference). Slices should be rectangular shape. This also works for tuna sashimi and spicy salmon sashimi.

Soy Citrus Yuzu Ponzu Sauce

• Mix soy sauce and citrus yuzu ponzu sauce for a delicious dipping sauce. They can also be used as separate dipping sauces. If you would like to make garlic ponzu sauce, you can add a pinch of pressed or finely minced garlic to your ponzu. This yuzi was made popular by Nobu. You can also add a splash of rice vinegar or sesame oil for some extra layers of flavor.

Soy Sauce with Wasabi and Lemon

• Mix soy sauce, wasabi and lemon juice for a delicious dipping sauce. The lemon juice is not traditional but it adds a nice tart flavor.

Optional Garnishes

• Wasabi and pickled ginger may also be served as a side.

How to cut sashimi

The first trick to cutting salmon sashimi or smoked salmon sashimi is to be sure that your knife is well sharpened. You might also consider purchasing a sushi knife if you want to make sushi or sashimi more frequently.

Be sure that you have a very stable base to cut your fish and that the cutting board will not slide. Slice salmon fish into thin rectangular slices about ¼ inch thick or your preference) for this salmon sashimi recipe.

This type of slice is used for tuna sashimi, albacore sashimi and yellowtail tuna sashimi. This video on how to slice salmon sashimi is very helpful.

While you can be very precise about how you slice your fish, ultimately the most important tips are to slice thinly, use a sharp sushi knife and cut against the grain of the fish for optimal texture.

FAQ and expert tips

Looking for other delicious Asian recipes and sushi?

• Bang Bang Sauce: Creamy sweet and spicy sauce perfect for dipping.
• Salmon Tataki: Delicious delicately seared salmon with a soy dipping sauce.
• Vegetable Sushi: With 8 different sushi roll reparations!
• Chili Crisp: Spicy hot chili and garlic dipping sauce. Works well with many Japanese food preparations.
• Eel Sauce: A rich umami unagi soy dipping sauce.

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