Common name: Red rockfish, Matsubara’s red rockfish, Matsubara stingfish

Japanese name: Akoudai (阿侯鯛、赤魚鯛、緋魚、阿加魚)

Scientific name: Sebastes matsubarae Hilgendorf, 1880

Nigiri sushi detail: Red rockfish (Akoudai) Nigiri sushi

Characteristics:

Red rockfish (Akoudai) is distributed along the coast of Aomori to Mie prefectures, especially in Sagami Bay and Suruga Bay. It mainly inhabits reef areas at depths of 500~700m on the continental shelf margin. The body length is 50~60 cm. Its body color is uniformly bright red. It is also caught in Tokyo Bay and has been called Akoudai since the Edo period, but is not a member of the Madai family. It is in season from early winter to early spring.

It used to be distributed as a substitute for Madai and Madara, but in recent years it has become a super-premium fish. In the market, Akoudai and Menuke are often confused with each other. The Akou fish seen in Tokyo are red deep-sea Mebaru called Menuke, such as Angry rockfish (Oosaga), Coral-rockfish (Sankomenuke), and Brickred rockfish (Baramenuk). On the other hand, Akou, prized in western Japan during the summer season, is the red-spotted grouper (Kijihata).

Akoudai is widely used for salted and grilled fish, boiled fish, soup, sashimi, and sushi. When making sushi, it has too much fat, so it should be treated with Yubiki. When you put it in your mouth, you will feel the mild sweetness and umami of the fat. When the acidity of the sushi rice is added, it becomes the best Nigiri sushi.

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