Ikizukuri
In Japanese cuisine, ikizukuri (生き作り, “prepared alive”) is the preparation of sashimi from a living animal.
Ikizukuri usually begins with the customer selecting, from a tank in the restaurant, the animal (shrimp, octopus, lobster, assorted fish) they wish to eat. The chef, almost always a sashimi chef who has undergone years of training and apprenticeship, takes the animal out of the tank and filets and guts it, but without killing the animal, which is served on a plate, sliced, with the heart still beating.
Ikizukuri of fish consists of thin, sheet-like slices or finger-sized pieces sometimes garnished with lemon wedges, a decoration of ginger, or nori (seaweed). Squid and small octopuses are usually wrapped around a chopstick and eaten whole.
Ikizukuri is a controversial method of food preparation, both in Japan and in other countries. In Japan, inhumanity (不人情) and savage behavior ([野蛮な行動] Error: {{Lang}}: script: jpan not supported for code: ja (help)) are regarded with intense disapproval[citation needed] and many people consider ikizukuri to display both traits.
See also
- Odori ebi, shrimp eaten alive in Japanese cuisine
- Sannakji, octopus eaten alive in Korean cuisine
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