Koi no Arai (Chilled Carp Sashimi)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 35 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 4
About this dish
Skinned carp fillet, sliced about twice as thick as fugu sashimi, is swished briefly through water near 42°C and then tightened in ice water, which trims surface fat and odor and gives the flesh a crisp, springy bite without cooking it.
Read more
In Koriyama, Fukushima, carp farming grew after the Asaka Canal freed up former reservoirs, and carp became special-occasion food for weddings, New Year, and guests. Mustard vinegar miso is the usual dip.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Use the carp on the day it is prepared for raw service.
Sanitize the worktop, knife, and board, and prepare a large bowl of ice water.
- 2
Remove the skin from both professionally cleaned fillets, then pull out visible pin bones and bloodline remnants with tweezers.
- 3
Slice across the grain on a diagonal about 5 mm thick, making approximately 60 slices in total.
- 4
Bring clean water to 42°C and pass small batches of carp through it for only 3 to 5 seconds.
Remove as soon as the surface contracts slightly.
- 5
Move immediately to ice water, swish gently for 30 seconds to tighten the flesh, rinse once more in fresh ice water, and drain.
- 6
Pat dry and arrange 15 slices per chilled plate.
Serve mustard vinegar miso as the primary dip, with ginger soy and ponzu as alternatives.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
正月荘（福島県郡山市） · Checked: 2026-08-11