Common name: Oriental sillago, Blotchy sillago, Oriental trumpeter whiting, Trumpeter sillago

Japanese name: Hoshigisu (ホシギス)

Taiwan common name: 星沙鮻、沙腸仔、沙燙仔(幼魚)、鳥公(老成魚)、沙鑽

Chinese common name: 杂色鱚

Scientific name: Sillago aeolus Jordan and Evermann, 1902

Nigiri sushi detail: Oriental sillago (Hoshigisu) Nigiri sushi

Characteristics:

Oriental sillago (Hoshigisu) is distributed south of the southern tip of Kyushu, Okinawa, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, India, and the east coast of Africa. It inhabits sandy and muddy bottoms along the coast. The dorsal surface of the body is skin-colored, assimilating with the sandy soil, and the ventral surface is white. The body length is 15~30 cm. The body shape is thick, tubular, and long.

Kissing species that inhabit the Japanese coast include Japanese whiting (Shirogisu), Blue whiting (Aogisu), Northern whiting (Motogisu), and Oriental sillago (Hoshigisu).

Hoshigisu is suitable for sashimi, tempura, and fried. It tastes similar to Shirogisu, but for some reason, chefs use shirogisu for tempura and nigiri sushi.