When you put food in your mouth, the components that are dissolved by your saliva are called extract components. Extract components include mainly free amino acid and inosinic acid as well as organic-based components such as adenosine triphosphate-related substances, creatine and trimethylamine oxide. Extract components are important components that make up the flavor of foods.
When we looked up the extract component composition of the muscle of chum salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon and king salmon, which are all types of salmon, the component composition of chum salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon and king salmon are all similar.
The taste of fish is much lighter in comparison to the muscle meat of shrimp, crab and squid types of seafood. By combining extract components, shrimp, crab and squid flavors can be reproduced, but the relationship between the flavor extract components and fat in fish meat plays an important role in taste. The fat of fish gives it a rich flavor, illustrated by the fact that compared to the back meat of fish, the taste of the belly meat, which is abundant in fat to protect the organs, has a richer flavor.
The difference between the muscle of salmon and tuna is that salmon tends to have a lower inosinic acid content. Although not unique to salmon, the delicious taste of fish meat is related to the amount of inosinic acid and the amount of fat. Umami is mainly made up of inosinic acid is strongly related to fat and in case of inosinic acid content is high, it doesn’t feel “fatty” even with high-fat content. Instead, the fat makes it more pleasant and delicious.
On the other hand, when the inosinic acid content is low, a high-fat content doesn’t really translate into a pleasant taste. In the case of farmed fish, where high importance is attached to the weight of the fish when it is shipped, even if the fat content is high, if the inosinic acid level is low, then the fatty aspect does not translate into deliciousness, which is likely what leads to the opinion that the flavor of farmed fish is inferior to wild fish.
In the case of salmon variations, the inosinic acid content is low compared to tuna variations, and generally, the optimal amount of fat for delicious salmon is 4 to 6%. With tuna, the general idea is, the more fat, the more delicious, but this is not true for the taste of salmon.
Fat on animals that live above ground hardens when refrigerated. This creates an unpleasant waxy texture when eaten. However, as fish live in the frigid ocean waters, their fat doesn’t harden, even when stored at about -18℃. The most appealing aspect of salmon is thought to be that it goes well with shari (vinegared rice). The meat is soft and the fat has a low melting point, so it blends easily with shari and emits a sweetness when you bite. This is a sensation you won’t find with much other fish.
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Revision date: February 9, 2021
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Unagi distributed domestically in Japan used to include European eel, but currently, it is mostly Japanese eel. In Japan, the overwhelmingly most popular way to eat unagi is “kabayaki”. Kabayaki mainly refers to a grilled fish cuisine in which unagi or anago (conger eel) is prepared by slicing open along the spine and removing the bones and guts, then skewering it, and grilling without any seasoning, steaming it (Some area, unagi is just grilled longer without steaming. This results in the unagi a little crispier and chewier) after that, and finally dipping it in a sauce made from a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sugar, sake, etc.
First, let’s roughly categorize sake. The two main indicators that determine category are aroma and intensity. Is the aroma fragrant or mild? Is the taste mellow or sharp? This creates 4 categories, fruity (aromatic with a mellow flavor), light (mild aroma with a mellow flavor), umakuchi (mild aroma with a strong flavor) and matured (aromatic with a strong flavor).
Oboro and Denbu look the same, and the ingredients are also pretty much the same. In other words, there are no clear differences between them, but what it is called differs depending on the restaurant’s policy and the locality. There are various theories for this, but there is no clear line distinguishing oboro and denbu.
Denbu (田麩) is mainly boiled white fish that is then loosened and made into fibers, then seasoned with sugar, mirin, salt, etc., then roasted until the moisture is gone. Some are colored with red food coloring (called sakura denbu) while others are left as the brown color similar to tsukudani. The appearance is as if only the fibers of the original ingredients remain. This is why it was written with the kanji “田夫” (the literal meaning of kanji: rice patty+husband). The word “田夫” means “someone from the countryside” or “rough-cut” and refers to the way the fish is turned into a coarse form by pulling the meat apart. It is also used as a coloring for chirashizushi, futomaki (large sushi rolls), bento boxes, etc.
On the other hand, Oboro (朧) is made by using a grinding bowl to break down the meat of shiba shrimp or white fish, then seasoning with sugar, mirin and salt before removing the moisture over low heat. Oboro is used for bara-chirashi, futomaki (large sushi rolls), etc., and is also sometimes used between the topping and shari (vinegared rice) in nigiri sushi. This gentle sweetness and the shrimp aroma are essential for Edo-style sushi. Making oboro is laborious work, so there are fewer and fewer Edo-style sushi restaurants that make their own oboro.
In most cases, Fugu (blowfish) poison is found in non-meat parts of the fish such as the liver, ovaries, stomach, intestine, skin and eyes. There are Fugu that do not contain poison in these parts, but most of the Fugu in the waters near Japan are poisonous. A mistake in preparations that allows the meat to touch the poison of the liver or ovaries results in immediate death. Therefore, the general rule is to only eat Fugu at restaurants with an expert licensed in Fugu preparation. Cases of poisoning by Fugu are nearly always a result of an amateur trying to prepare the fish.
A good representative fish of shusseuo is the yellowtail. Its name changes as it grows and there are various forms of their names depending on the region. In the Kanto region, it changes from Wakashi (15-20cm) to Inada (30-40cm) to Warasa (60cm) and then to Buri (80cm or greater). It is said to be most delicious at 40 cm or longer and even if the body is plump, inada often has little fat.
Lumpfish roe is sold as a substitute for caviar. The size of each egg is about 2 mm in diameter and it is colored with squid ink. This gives it a taste and appearance similar to caviar. The market price is an astonishing USD $5 per 50 g.
First, place the caviar on a cracker. Fake caviar (made of Lumpfish roe) has added color, and this color will bleed onto the cracker within about 30 minutes. However, the color will not transfer to the cracker from real caviar.
When you see “tai” on the menu at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, it’s very likely that is not “madai” (
First on the list is Nile tilapia. This fish was introduced from Egypt to rivers throughout the world as food in 1962. While it was farmed in large quantities in Japan, especially in Kagoshima, from the 1990s, production rapidly declined with the stagnant prices of farmed madai. However, they are extremely fertile and proliferate naturally, and started living in the thermal regions and the rivers where warm wastewater flow throughout Japan.
The name “engawa” comes from its resemblance to the unique veranda structure of Japanese-style homes. This veranda is called “engawa” in Japanese.
While high-quality tuna toro used to be unattainable for normal people, it’s now become a much more affordable item. This is thanks to fish fattening (畜養) practices of the 
In the case of Sushi, a representative of Japanese cuisine, the decisive point is to prepare the fish in a way that removes the fishy odor characteristic of Japanese sea bass. At the same time, the finished piece should be a simple dish that can be enjoyed with only a minimal amount of nikiri soy sauce and wasabi, so as not to override the natural refreshing flavor and umami of the fish. It should let the customer imagine sea bass swimming in the summer sea. And yet, the deep flavor required for the dish is successfully brought out using only a balanced combination of vinegar rice, the topping, wasabi and soy sauce. The method is really just to take out the excessive elements of the dish.
Meanwhile, the method for making sea bass dishes in French cuisine, representative of western cooking, includes seasoning the fish with salt and pepper and saute in butter, then adding rich, creamy sauce as well as other things like herbs, caviar, black truffles, etc., creating a dish that allows enjoyment of multilayered flavor. This sort of dish beautifully makes up for the flavors that the light, white fish lacks and portrays a flavor with depth through the finished plate over the individual flavor of the sea bass. In this cuisine, it can be said that the cooking method is more important than the raw ingredients. It can be thought of as cuisine that adds many ingredients.
In order to maintain the quality of tuna, when it is caught in the sea, the ikejime technique is used first, then rapid freezing is used as a matter of course. This means that the quality of the thawing technique is also important. Poor thawing conditions mean that the drip outflow volume will be too high, shrinking the meat and worsening the texture. Here I will explain a thawing method that doesn’t cause drip, uneven thawing, or loss of color.
I’m sure you’ve seen it before in any type of thawing frozen meat, but there is a red liquid that comes out of the tuna when thawing. This is called ‘drip’. This liquid includes the tuna’s umami, and when the fish loses a lot, it naturally detracts from the flavor.
However, in 1934, a restaurant in Ginza called Kyubey started a revolution. This restaurant is still synonymous with high-end sushi, but at that time many political and business people went there as well. Then, one night… Apparently, one of the regular customers was tired of eating ordinary sushi and said to the chef, Hisaji Imada, “I want to eat some sushi that is more unusual. Ikura (Salmon roe) sounds like it would make good sushi,” as a joke. Imada, who took these words seriously, thought to himself, “But the roe would fall off if put directly on the shari (vinegar rice),” and racked his brain that night for a solution. Finally, he had an idea and said, “I know, I could just surround shari with seaweed and put salmon roe in it.” This is how the Ikura Gunkanmaki was born.
Next, when that customer came in again and Imada nervously served him his new Ikura sushi concept, it was received much better than expected. Gaining confidence from this reaction, Chef Imada put it on his regular menu. The story goes that rumors of the delicious taste spread and other sushi restaurants started to copy it. Then, the term “ikura gunkan-maki”(salmon roe battleship roll) was coined.
There is only one trick to distinguishing between conveyor belt sushi restaurants (kaiten-zushi), and that is to try eating the tuna as your first dish.
The most commonly used ingredient at kaiten-zushi is tuna. At kaiten-zushi, the tuna is imported and frozen nearly 100% of the time. The most famous is the Southern blue-fin tun, but you’ll also find Boston bluefin tuna, Canadian tuna farmed in fish preserves, inland sea tuna from Turkey and Spain, New Zealand offshore tuna, Atlantic tuna, etc. Also, the season of each type of tuna and the timing of high-volume catch differ, which makes the prices fluctuate greatly.
He gave out his hidden recipe, something that only a sushi chef can think of, and something you don’t see in those classic recipes. First, it might be hard to get at places like a supermarket, but he was telling us that using cane sugar (三温糖) and 
When you make chirashi sushi, don’t push the sushi rice too hard to squeeze in a container. Try to put it in softly as if letting the air in.