Ingredients
The plate
- 300 gsashimi-grade horse meat, from a specialist supplier, kept frozen until use
Condiments
- 1thumb fresh ginger, finely grated
- 4 clovesgarlic, finely grated
- 6spring onions, finely sliced
- shiso leaves
- grated daikon
Sauce
- 4 tbspsweet soy sauce, or 3 tbsp soy plus 1 tbsp mirin
- a little wasabi
Directions
- Buy only meat explicitly sold for raw consumption from a supplier who handles it for that purpose. In Japan basashi is produced under specific hygiene rules including a mandatory freezing step, and ordinary butcher’s horse meat is not a substitute.
- Keep it frozen until you are ready. Partially thaw it in the refrigerator until it is firm but sliceable — this makes clean slicing possible and keeps the meat cold throughout.
- Chill the plates. Basashi is served very cold and warms quickly.
- Slice across the grain with a long sharp knife in single smooth strokes, about 3 mm thick. Sawing tears the fibres and the slices lose their sheen.
- Arrange the slices overlapping on the cold plates, on a bed of shiso and grated daikon.
- Serve the ginger, garlic and spring onion in small mounds alongside, with the sweet soy for dipping. The garlic in particular is not optional — it is the traditional pairing and it cuts the sweetness of the meat.
- Eat immediately, while everything is still properly cold.
- Raw meat carries risk for anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised, and this preparation is not appropriate for them.
Technique
- Kumamoto is the centre of basashi, and the leanest cuts are prized alongside the marbled toro-like belly.
- Slice it colder than seems comfortable. Warm horse meat is soft and impossible to cut thinly.
- Sweet soy rather than plain — the slight sugar is standard in Kumamoto and balances the meat.
Substitutions
- There is no substitute that makes this the same dish. If sashimi-grade horse is unavailable, make something else.
- Sashimi-grade beef, prepared identically, is a different dish but a good one.
Variations
- Basashi with a raw quail egg stirred into the dipping sauce.
- Tategami, the fatty neck-crest cut, served alongside the lean for contrast.
History
A Kumamoto speciality said to date from Kato Kiyomasa’s late sixteenth-century campaigns; Kumamoto still produces most of Japan’s horse meat.
Frequently asked questions
What is Basashi?
Basashi is a main from Japan: raw horse meat sliced thin with ginger, garlic and sweet soy. A Kumamoto speciality said to date from Kato Kiyomasa’s late sixteenth-century campaigns; Kumamoto still produces most of Japan’s horse meat.
How long does Basashi take to make?
Basashi takes 20 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 4 servings as a starter. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Basashi?
Yes, within limits. There is no substitute that makes this the same dish. If sashimi-grade horse is unavailable, make something else. Sashimi-grade beef, prepared identically, is a different dish but a good one.
What is the most important thing to get right in Basashi?
Serve the ginger, garlic and spring onion in small mounds alongside, with the sweet soy for dipping. The garlic in particular is not optional — it is the traditional pairing and it cuts the sweetness of the meat.
