Nippon Ham, Japan’s largest ham producer, is venturing into a new market by developing a plant-based tuna sashimi for food service. The product, which is made primarily from konnyaku, a starch gelatin derived from yam, aims to replicate the look, texture, and taste of raw tuna, one of the most popular and iconic ingredients in Japanese cuisine.
According to Nippon Ham, the plant-based tuna sashimi is part of its efforts to respond to the growing global demand for plant-based meat and fish substitutes, as well as to provide a sustainable source of protein that will not deplete the fishery resources. The company also hopes to appeal to health-conscious consumers who are looking for low-fat, low-cholesterol, and high-fiber alternatives to animal products.
Nippon Ham is not the first company to create plant-based sashimi. In recent years, several startups and researchers have been developing various methods and technologies to produce vegan versions of raw fish, such as using soy, algae, or cell-based techniques. However, Nippon Ham claims that its product is the first plant-based sashimi to be made from konnyaku, which has a firm and chewy texture that resembles tuna.
How Does It Taste?
Nippon Ham’s plant-based tuna sashimi is still in the development stage, and the company has not revealed the exact ingredients or the nutritional values of the product. However, it has released a video that shows how the product is made and how it looks like when sliced and served.
The video shows that the plant-based tuna sashimi has a dark red color and a smooth surface, similar to real tuna. It also shows that the product can be cut into thin slices and eaten with soy sauce and wasabi, just like regular sashimi. The video does not include any comments or reactions from the people who tasted the product, so it is hard to judge how close it is to the real thing.
Nippon Ham plans to start selling its plant-based tuna sashimi to restaurants in April 2024, and hopes to expand its distribution and customer base gradually. The company acknowledges that Japan has a small number of strict vegetarians and no widespread religious prohibitions against eating fish or meat, so it expects that it will take time for plant-based sashimi to catch on. However, it also believes that there is a potential market for people who are curious about new and innovative foods, or who are concerned about the environmental and ethical issues of eating fish.
What Do People Think?
The announcement of Nippon Ham’s plant-based tuna sashimi has sparked mixed reactions from the public, especially on social media. Some people expressed interest and appreciation for the company’s attempt to create a plant-based alternative to sashimi, while others criticized or ridiculed the product as unnatural or unnecessary.
Some of the comments from Twitter users are:
- “That isn’t tuna!”
- “I think it’s great that they’re trying. I hope someday it’ll be something that’s cheap and delicious.”
- “That isn’t tuna. It’s just bizarre.”
- “I’d give it a try.”
- “We’re now living in the age where sashimi is made out of plants.”
- “This reminds me of the ‘bio tuna’ they had in the ‘Ninja Slayer’ anime.”
Nippon Ham’s plant-based tuna sashimi is one of the latest examples of how the plant-based food industry is evolving and expanding, especially in Japan, where traditional foods such as sushi and ramen are being reinvented with vegan ingredients. Whether or not the product will be successful remains to be seen, but it is certainly a bold and intriguing move from a company that is known for its ham and pork products.