Red flesh
Striped marlin (Makajiki)
【Nigiri sushi: Akami】
What is Makajiki?
Blue marlin has become widely known from the book "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Miller Hemingway, but it implies the meaning of sport fishing rather than fish to eat. Considered as a fine ingredient in Edomae sushi. Fish flesh with reddish spring color has a fine and rich taste. Tasty as tuna yet it offers other enjoyment of fish fat.
A Marlin's head is chopped off first and then its body is cut perpendicular to the spine into four steak-size pieces. The first piece from the head is called "ichi-no-kire", the second one "ni-no-kire", the third one "san-no-kire", and the last one "yon-no-kire". Since ni-no-kire is the best of all, that is what sushi restaurants want to get.
In addition, there is a tradition of Edomae sushi that does not use any species of marlin other than Striped marlin (Makajiki) as sushi toppings, and the reputation of Broadbill swordfish (Mekajiki) and Black marlin (Shirokajiki) is low.
The very scarce ingredient that can rarely be seen at even fancy sushi restaurant counter. If you find one, don’t miss the opportunity to try it.
Also called Barred marlin or Marlinspike fish or New Zealand marlin or Spearfish.
【Trivia】
In Ishikawa Prefecture, the local dialect calls swordfish “sawara”. The part of the fish called “sode” (the belly) is highly prized for its rich fat content, similar to the fatty tuna belly.
There are various types of marlin, such as the striped marlin, the black marlin, and the white marlin, but they are generally written as “sawara”in supermarkets.
Incidentally, the original sawara (Japanese spanish mackerel) was not caught very much in the past, but the amount of fish caught in Ishikawa Prefecture has been increasing rapidly since around 2000. It is sometimes called “Yanagisawara”to distinguish it.
【Substitute fish】
Opah or Sunfish: Lampris megalopsis Underkoffler, Luers, Hyde and Craig, 2018
【Related contents】
What is Jukusei sushi?
List of Red flesh fish (Akami)