【Reading】けん

【English Name】Ken / Garnishes

Ken is a sushi/culinary term referring to a type of "tsuma" (garnish) added to sashimi, indicating vegetables such as daikon cut thinly into thread-like strands.

Daikon is peeled thinly in a katsura-muki (rotary peel), then cut into fine julienne and soaked in cold water to finish with a crisp texture. In the plating of sashimi, it is used as a base or accompaniment, playing the role of enhancing the visual beauty. Besides daikon, cucumber, carrot, myoga, and the like are sometimes used.

The name "ken" is said to derive from its fine, sharp cut surface evoking a sword (ken). Among the kinds of tsuma, ken specifically refers to thinly julienned ones, clearly distinguished from "tsuma" such as leafy greens and flower spikes (hozsuho).

On the practical side, it is said to have the effect of absorbing excess moisture from the raw fish and maintaining freshness, and at sushi restaurants and ryotei the fineness and uniformity of the ken's cutting is often cited as one measure of an artisan's skill.