White flesh
Devil stinger (Oniokoze)
【Nigiri sushi: Shiromi】
What is Oniokoze?
Oniokoze (Devil stinger) grows to a total length of about 25 cm. There are cortical protrusions over the entire body that look sharp. It is also a fish that has poison in its dorsal fin, which can cause you big problems if you’re inadvertently stung. It lives in sandy and muddy seafloors from Kanto southward in the Pacific Ocean and from Niigata southward in the Sea of Japan as well as in coastal areas of the East China Sea, from shallow inner bays to depths of up to 200 m. Many people praise it, saying it’s even better than winter fugu.
However, the head of this fish is huge, so when used for sushi toppings, most of it ends up going to waste. Setting aside whether it’s proper or not, soup at a sushi restaurant made with the leftovers of this fish is divine. Even the flavors of the liver and skin after being parboiled are delicious. This is a good side dish to enjoy with alcohol. You’ll generally only find this fish at restaurants that can put the leftover parts to use in ways like this.
You will also find Oniokoze (devil stinger) in red and yellow, as their body color approaches the color of their habitat as a protective color. Above all, they are famous for the venom in their dorsal fins. If you are stung by its spines, you will feel intense pain and swelling, so be careful.
When cooking, it is safer to turn the fish inside out, hold the ventral fin firmly so that it does not slip in the slime, and cut off the spines with scissors. The venom does not disappear from the cut spines.
The hairy stingfish, a close relative of the marbled rockfish, is sometimes sold in the market as a substitute for devil stinger, but it is not as tasty as devil stinger.
Also called Lumpfish or Poison fish.
(Revision date: January 8, 2024)