A Japanese dish of raw fish cut into thin slices of different sizes, varying between 2mm and 10 mm, depending on the knives used and the kind of fish. Usually, // is the first dish served in a Japanese meal so that the taster may enjoy its delicacy before eating other dishes with stronger flavours that would hinder //’s fine taste. Salmon and tuna are the two most popular kinds of sashimi, but there are other kinds of seafood that can be used, such as shrimp, whale, sea urchin, octopus, squid, and scallop. Fish is most often served raw in Japanese cuisine, but sometimes octopus // is cooked due to its rubbery texture.