Common name: Coral hind, Blue-spotted rock cod, Bluespotted hind, Coral cod, Coral grouper, Coral rock cod, Coral trout, Grouper

Japanese name: Yukatahata (浴衣羽太)

Taiwan common name: 青星九刺鮨、紅鱠、紅格仔、過魚、石斑、條舅、紅條、鱠仔

Chinese common name: 青星九棘鲈

Scientific name: Cephalopholis miniata (Forsskål, 1775)

Nigiri sushi detail: Coral hind (Yukatahata) Nigiri sushi

Characteristics:

Coral hind (Yukatahata) is distributed along the Pacific coast of southern Japan and the Ryukyu Islands, in the western Pacific including Japan, the central Pacific including the Hawaiian Islands and the Line Islands. It inhabits coral reefs and rocky reefs, and can be found at depths of 2 to 150 meters. The maximum length of the fish is nearly 40 cm, but most are around 30 cm. The body color is orange-red, and adults have small blue spots scattered on their sides.

Hata (grouper) is the generic name for the subfamily Hata (grouper) of the family Perciformes of the order Perciformes, which consists of 26 genera and about 200 species. Of these, the species mainly distributed in the Toyosu market are Sevenband grouper (Mahata), Yellow grouper (Aohata), Blacktip grouper (Akahata), (Akahatamodoki), Redspotted grouper  (Kijihata), and Orange-spotted grouper (Chairomaruhata). The very expensive and rare longtooth grouper (Kue) and the giant grouper (Tamakai), which are often seen in aquariums, are also members of the genus Mahata.

Like other grouper species, the yukata grouper has a sweet taste of fat, moderate chewiness, and more flavor as it is chewed. If anything, its flavor is better when cooked, such as steamed, meuniere, or simmered.

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