Kaiseki at Home

While “Ashirai” can be translated as decoration I’m not completely satisfied with the english word. It kind of makes it seem as if it were optional, which it definetely is not.

It’s one of the most important parts of any Sashimi platter and I invite you to get to know the components and integrate them into your own plating. It definitely levels up the whole arrangement!

There are 4 components to Ashirai:

• SHIKIBA – leaf decoration (common leafs are: perilla, japanese maple, wasabi leaf, persimmon leaf)
• KEN – thinly sliced veggetable (most famous is Daikon radish)
• TSUMA – flavourful component (for example “benitade” [see next picture], perilla flower, chrysanthemum petals, citrus)
• KARAMI – spicy component (often wasabi or ginger, sometimes japanese mustard)

Often additional decorations depending on the type of fish and to convey seasonality are added. If you look at the picture below, there are:

• Shikiba = green perilla leaf
• Ken = thinly sliced daikon raddish – it is the structural element beneath the perilla leaf, so it can’t be seen in the picture. Ideally it should not be seen, just give the plating more of a 3D effect.
• Tsuma = “Benitade” – the deep red sprouts on the right side.
• Karami = Wasabi
• Additional: Sudachi citrus and carrots in the shape of cherry blossoms – that way we know it was a spring menu

On this Sashimi plate there are the perilla leaf and raddish that we talked about just now, but additionally there are curled carrot and radish. As well as small bowls made of cucumber and carrot for holding grated ginger and “tade” sprouts and on the right side you can see a lemon wedge cut into a nice shape.

Here you can see carrots cut into maple leaf shapes and blooming red perilla, which is also a very popular decoration.

To sum it up: you want a nice and ideally edible leaf, some thinly shredded veggies as padding, a flavourful component (citrus fruit is probably easy to source) and a spicy component. Your local asian supermarket will probably have most of what you need. Have fun with it!

I hope you try decorationg your plates this way. Please just make sure to wash and desinfect your leaves really well if you end up plucking them outside!