Basashi (馬刺し) is a horse sashimi dish (sashimi of course referring to raw meat). Basashi was fairly high up on a list of things I thought I’d never eat. But after watching my friend try some and getting his feedback (“hey, not bad”), I figured that it would be worthwhile to try it once. Plus, they were having a basashi sale at my local conveyor belt sushi joint (210 yen for two pieces). How can you go wrong with cheap raw horse for dinner? I’ve already had various types of fish sashimi and when I was in South Korea, I tried raw beef (delicious!). But horse was a first for me. They definitely aren’t kosher because horse don’t chew their cud or have split feet. That’s like double not kosher.

Horse sashimi is a delicacy in parts of Japan. In my region, it is not particularly common and usually is not served at my local sushi shop. (Another reason I jumped on the chance to eat it. Limited time only!) Due to the pink color, it is often referred to as cherry blossom meat (桜肉). I assume that the local sushi place decided that it was fitting to serve cherry blossom meat during cherry blossom season. Horse meat to said to be low in calories, low in fat, low in cholesterol, and high in protein compare to beef, pork, and poultry. So, if nothing else, horse meat is probably a healthy choice, it seems.

My thoughts: Some parts were soft and some were too chewy. The flavor was ok though. I think I would have liked it more if I didn’t know it was horse. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that I was eating horse.

What my friend said: it was interesting, but I was disappointed. Maybe it would be better at a shop that specializes in horse meat and serves good quality stuff. But it wasn’t the kind of delicious food that I would go out of my way to seek out.