Ika（cuttlefish or Squid） | Sushiblog

a photo of Ooba — Ooba (Aojiso) is the name for only the leafy part of the shiso plant, the green perilla.

Actually, Shiso (紫蘇) and Ooba (大葉) are the same things.

a photo of Red perilla — Akajiso (red perilla) is a perilla with reddish purple leaves.

Shiso (perilla leaf) has green perilla (青紫蘇) with green leaves and red perilla (赤紫蘇) with reddish-purple leaves. Shiso is originally reddish purple in color, and green perilla is a variant of red perilla. The red color of red perilla is due to the pigment shisonin, a type of anthocyanin.

What is Shiso?

Shiso originates from southern China to Myanmar. The shiso is an aromatic Japanese herb and has been used as a condiment in tempura and other Japanese dishes for centuries. Shortly sprouted seeds are called Mejiso (芽紫蘇). The young shoots of green perilla are Aome (青芽), and the young shoots of red perilla are Murame (紫芽).

And Hanajiso (花紫蘇), where about 30% of the shiso flowers are about to bloom. Hojiso (穂紫蘇) is harvested while the fruit is immature. These are also used as garnishes and condiments for sashimi and other dishes.

Why is Shiso called Ooba?

There are two theories. One is to distinguish it from Mejisho, which was used as Tsuma for Sashimi. The young shoots of shiso are Mejisho and the leaves of shiso are Ooba. The other is Ooba, which was adopted as the trade name for the bundles of green perilla leaves that were sold. Since neither of these names is well known to the general consumers, there is no understanding that green perilla and Ooba are the same things.

The many benefits of Shiso

Shiso has one of the highest levels of β-carotene among vegetables. β-carotene is an antioxidant that boosts immunity and protects the body from active oxygen species that cause cancer and atherosclerosis. Shiso is also rich in alpha-linolenic acid. It is converted into DHA and EPA in the body and is believed to prevent aging.

Shiso is rich in iron. Since anemia requires supplementation of iron deficiency, shiso leaves, which are rich in iron, are good food for preventing anemia. It also contains high amounts of calcium, which helps iron absorption.

Shiso contains high levels of potassium, a mineral that helps the body eliminate excess sodium in the urine. By controlling water metabolism in the body, it is expected to reduce swelling.

Perillaldehyde, the aromatic component of green perilla and red perilla, stimulates the secretion of gastric juice, increases appetite, and stimulates gastrointestinal function. red perilla is also used in Chinese herbal medicine to improve gastrointestinal symptoms. It also has strong antiseptic and antibacterial properties. It is often used as a condiment for sashimi tsuma and other dishes because of this potential antimicrobial and sterilizing action, and it is also believed to have some antiseptic properties.

Rosmarinic acid, a type of polyphenol contained in Shiso, is believed to suppress the generation of the active oxygen with its high antioxidant power, making it less likely to cause allergic symptoms. Taking it into the body on a daily basis is expected not only to suppress the aggravation of inflammation but also to make the body less prone to inflammation.

The β-carotene in shiso prevents skin from oxidizing and aging. Calcium, which is abundant in shiso leaves, helps to connect skin cells to each other. It is also rich in vitamin C, which is believed to be effective in whitening the skin.

a photo of Squid nigiri — The common taste of squid is sweetness. However, the taste is not very rich. Therefore, Nori or other ingredients are placed between the sushi rice and the sushi topping, because Nori has a unique umami taste due to amino acids, such as glutamic acid.

As a side note, Ooba is often placed between the shari and squid at conveyor-belt sushi restaurants. This is to mask the fishy smell of the squid with the smell of the Ooba.

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Revision date: April 11, 2023

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No people in the world love squid more than the Japanese. Squid ranks third in import volume behind shrimp and tuna. Squid is brought to Japan from the oceans all over the world. There are between 400 and 500 species of wild squid on Earth. Some, like the pygmy cuttlefish, are tinier than 3 millimeters while the giant squid is over 10 meters.

There are about 100 species of squid that live in the waters surrounding Japan. Surume ika (Japanese common squid) makes up the highest volume of domestic-caught squid. It is used as a Yari ika or Surume ika topping in eastern Japan, but Surume ika isn’t used very often in western Japan. At sushi restaurants, squid like Sumi ika (Golden cuttlefish), Aori ika (Bigfin reef squid), Kensaki ika (Swordtip squid) and Mongou ika (Ocellated cuttlefish) go for high prices, but they are all caught in smaller quantities and therefore only available to high-end sushi restaurants that can procure them fresh.

There are some conveyor belt sushi restaurants that list Mongou ika (モンゴウイカ又はカミナリイカ) on the menu, but actually serve European common cuttlefish. It is produced in the waters off the coast of West Africa. Even some sushi restaurants do this. This is actually still too pricey for conveyor belt sushi though. What is generally used at conveyor belt sushi is Flying squid, which goes for only 1/10 the price of the European common cuttlefish and reaches 60 cm in length. Jumbo flying squid is also often used. The Jumbo flying squid is more than twice as long as the Flying squid and exceeds 1 meter in length. The Jumbo flying squid is mainly imported from places on the other side of the world such as Chile and Mexico. The thickness of the meat is similar to Mongou ika. However, a big drawback is that the Jumbo flying squid lacks the sweetness peculiar to squid. Therefore, it is soaked in water that has been artificially sweetened. This alters the dried out sensation to a plump, moist sensation, making the customer believe it is Mongou ika.

The squid must have a certain thickness in order to masquerade as Mongou ika. Rhomboid squid, which has a torso length of 80 cm is also disguised as Mongou ika. Rhomboid squid is found in the warm waters of the world and is even caught in relatively high volume in Japan. Large squid have a low price cost, so it’s good for the shops to make a profit. Furthermore, the sweetness is brought out more when frozen first than by serving it fresh. That means it can be used as Mongou ika without any need for the artificial sweeteners used in Flying squid and Jumbo flying squid.

The fact is that there are many substitute products for Mongou ika. But even so, it doesn’t change the fact that using ingredients disguised as others is an unacceptable practice.

Types of substitutes for the Mongou ika

European common cuttlefish: Sepia officinalis (Linnaeus, 1758)

European common cuttlefish (ヨーロッパコウイカ) is found from the Atlantic coast of France to the Mediterranean and west coast of Africa. It is often caught in the waters around Morocco. Its body length is around 30 cm. When it first arrived on the Japanese market, it was called Mongouika, hence the name.

The scientific name sepia means black pigment and officinalis means medicinal, indicating that this is a material for Chinese herbal medicine. At processing plants in Thailand and China, the fish is made into fillets for sashimi, and then vacuum-packed and sent to Japan.

Flying squid: Ommastrephes bartramii (Lesueur, 1821)

Flying squid (アカイカ) is distributed in the North Pacific, South Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. Its body length exceeds 40 cm, and it can weigh more than 4 kg. It is similar in appearance to the Surumeika, but has a darker, blackish back. It is used as a substitute for Surumeika for processing such as delicacies.

Jumbo flying squid: Dosidicus gigas (Orbigny, 1835)

Jumbo flying squid (アメリカオオアカイカ) is found only off the Pacific coast of the United States, Chile and Peru in South America. They are over 80 cm in length, weigh around 10 kg, and have as many as 100 to 200 suckers. In Peru, they are called Pota. Japanese fishing vessels used to catch flying squid mainly in the North Pacific, but their catch has drastically decreased due to the ban on drift net fishing.

Japanese vessels have switched to fishing for Jumbo flying squid, a member of the flying squid family, in the waters off Peru and other areas. Fishing for Jumbo flying squid in Peruvian waters continues from spring to fall.

Since the drifting net fishing of flying squid has been banned, it is the most promising resource as a raw material for processing. However, the larger ones store ammonia in their muscles, so de-ammonia treatment is required when processing them.

Rhomboid squid: Thysanoteuthis rhombus Troschel, 1857

Rhomboid squid (ソデイカ) is widely distributed in the warm waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The body length is 70 cm. Its fins are diamond-shaped and the same length as its body. Because they do not form large schools and live scattered, they have been a difficult resource to exploit.

After a new fishing method was developed in the Tajima region of Hyogo Prefecture in the 1960s, the fishery began in earnest. Because of its reasonable price, it is often used in restaurants such as conveyor belt sushi restaurants. Also called Diamond squid or Diamondback squid.