Common name: Scalpel sawtail, Japanese Sawtail, Sawtail, Surgeon-fish

Japanese name: Nizadai (仁座鯛), Sanozi (サンノジ)

Taiwan common name: 鋸尾鯛、黑豬哥、黑將軍、打鐵婆、剝皮仔、老娘 (澎湖)

Scientific name: Prionurus scalprum Valenciennes, 1835

Nigiri sushi detail: Scalpel sawtail (Nizadai) Nigiri sushi

Features:

Scalpel sawtail (Nizadai) is distributed south of Miyagi Prefecture on the Pacific Ocean side, south of Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan side, and in Taiwan. It mainly inhabits reefs facing the open ocean. It swims in schools near the seafloor at depths of 5~30m. The body length is 30~50cm. Maximum length is 70cm. The body is oval and laterally flattened. Its body color is grayish brown, becoming silvery white as it matures. The season is winter when the smell of the sea decreases.

Like filefish (Kawahagi), Nizadai is cooked with the skin removed. Kura Sushi, a major conveyor belt sushi chain, has begun cultivating Nizadai, a low-use fish that is usually targeted for extermination, using cabbage as bait to reduce the odor.

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