Simaaodai is distributed along the Pacific coast south of the Izu Islands, the Ogasawara Islands, the Amami Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and northeastern Australia. It has a paler body color than the Aodai and has an indistinct brownish-red stripe on the backside. It lives in rocky areas at depths of 100m or more. It can reach a length of 60cm.

All fish in the Aodai genus are extremely valuable. The three most commonly distributed species are the blue fusilier (Aodai), yellowtail blue snapper (Umeiro), and saddleback snapper (Simaaodai). Simaaodai is the largest of the three species and is also the most highly regarded in terms of taste.

It has beautiful white flesh and is delicious no matter how you cook it, whether it’s sashimi, sushi topping, grilled, in a soup, or deep-fried. The larger the fish, the better it is said to be.

Common name: Saddleback Snapper, Saddled fusilier

Japanese name: Simaaodai (縞青鯛)

Taiwan common name: 橫帶擬烏尾鮗、雞仔魚、青尾鮗、厚殼雞

Chinese common name: 条纹若梅鲷、横带拟乌尾鮗

Korean common name: －

Scientific name: Paracaesio kusakarii Abe, 1960

Nigiri sushi detail: Saddleback snapper (Simaaodai) Nigiri sushi