Tataki

Tataki, from the Japanese word for pounded or hit into pieces, names two related Japanese preparations of fish or meat: in the more common method the food is seared very briefly over a hot flame or in a pan, sometimes marinated briefly in vinegar afterward, then sliced thin and seasoned with ginger, soy sauce and other garnishes and served much like sashimi; in the second method the fish is instead finely chopped and mixed with garnishes such as garlic, ginger, green onion or shiso leaf. The technique originated in Tosa Province, now part of Kochi Prefecture, where it was applied to bonito, and tradition credits the nineteenth-century samurai Sakamoto Ryoma with developing it after adapting European grilling methods he encountered in Nagasaki.