[Anime Culture Monday] Anime Recipe: Salmon, Avocado, & Wasabi Salad from Takunomi

Welcome back to Anime Recipes from Honey’s Anime. This week, yet again, we are taking a look at the delicious food that appears in anime. For the second week in a row, we are going to be enjoying Takunomi or the drinking at home anime! This season has Takunomi and Dagashikashi so you can either fill your stomach with food or rot your teeth out with candy. We chose food this week. Japan has a penchant for taking western food and dishes–for this week, it is avocado–and making it so distinctively Japanese that you are surprised by what you find combined together. The good news is, more often than not, you find out that what you are eating is rather delicious. This week we explore a dish that can be lunch, a side dish, or a snack while drinking: Salmon, Avocado, and Wasabi Salad.


Salmon, Avocado, & Wasabi Salad from Takunomi

Takunomi follows the story of Michiru who has just moved to Tokyo and moved into a share house for fear that she could not live on her own. She has just transferred jobs from somewhere out in the sticks to Tokyo and is adjusting slowly but surely. In her new home, Michiru will now live with two sisters Nao and Makoto, and Kae. All of the women work in different industries, but they all have a common hobby: They enjoy drinking. So, each day when she comes home or on the way home, Michiru has a delicious drink with these women while they discuss the wide variety of drinks in Japan. This edition hails from the first episode where Michiru gets to gorge herself on food while drinking Ebisu beer.

The salad that we are exploring today is essentially salmon carpaccio with avocado and the wild card ingredient, wasabi. This dish is another summer favorite due to its refreshing taste and flavor. The wasabi is there to give the dish a hint of a different flavor on top of what is already there while making sure that the dish is still Japanese at heart. While salmon and wasabi do go together well, it is a bit different to throw an avocado into the mix. Put down the toast as none is needed here, and pick up the wasabi and salmon as we take you on a different flavor journey this week.

What You Will Need:

salmon (safe for raw consumption)
100g

avocado
1

Soy Sauce
1 tbsp

Wasabi to taste and mix with the soy sauce.

Optional Notes:

While this sounds really out there, another common ingredient that shows up with salmon and avocado dishes is Japanese mayo. Western mayo is different so we cannot and will not vouch for it. Japanese mayo, which is made slightly differently, goes well with this recipe when you add just a little. There is no need to overdo it.



How to Cook It:

  1. 1

    For starters, cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Next, remove the inner fruit part. Throw away the peel.
  2. 2

    Slice the avocado in about 0.5-1inch (3cm) wide slices.
  3. 3

    Next, carefully take the salmon and slice it very thinly. You want to make sure that you use it all, so be sure to have a place nearby.
  4. 4

    Note: Alternatively, you can also cube both the salmon and the avocado for a different shape and look if you would like!
  5. 5

    Next, place the avocado and salmon in alternating layers on your plate or bowl.
  6. 6

    Pour the soy sauce into a small cup or bowl and place just a dot of wasabi on the side. Using a spoon, push the wasabi into the soy sauce and mix it. You can always add more wasabi if you want it to have a kick, but just be sure not to add too much at a time or you may overload your senses.
  7. 7

    Dip each piece of salmon or avocado in the soy sauce and wasabi mixture, or if you would like, pour the wasabi and soy sauce mixture on top of the plate of avocado and salmon and dig in. The latter works if you are sharing with others.

(Note: You are dealing with raw fish. Be sure to clean your hands and everything it touches constantly and when you are done. You do not want to give yourself food poisoning due to cross-contamination! )

Yum!

Final Thought

This brings us to an end this week. With the delicious dishes that we have seen in just the first episode of Takunomi, we feel like we might have already gained weight! Each of the featured dishes are excellent on their own, and, if you are of age, they also go excellent with a drink in hand! Just be sure to drink responsibly. Takunomi may be focusing on drinks and giving us tips on how to get tipsy, but the anime is sure to continue to present itself as food porn as well. What are your thoughts on wasabi? Have you ever tried it before or has it scared you off? Do you want to now? Be sure to let us know in the comments below if you are interested in seeing a dish from an anime series broken down. There are so many delicious foods in Japan and we cannot wait to see more of them debit via anime. Until next time!

005 [Anime Culture Monday] Anime Recipe: Salmon, Avocado, & Wasabi Salad from Takunomi

Editor/Translator

Author: Nagareboshi

American by birth; international by choice. I am trying to bring attention to one of my favorite causes; me. I translate by day and write by night. Aspiring polyglot. My dream would be to be the personal translator for Amuro Namie. Other than that, my hobbies include languages, weightlifting, sleeping, karaoke, GOOD coffee and music. When I’m not doing any of the above, I am most likely laughing hysterically at Willam Belli videos or EV farming. I ain’t gunna Rupologize for it neither. Waifu are Shirai Kuroko & Euaerin.

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