Going to a high-end Japanese food store, the waiter took a recipe. You opened it to order food, but you were dazzled by the list of names of dishes you seemed to know but couldn't read: "What are these words?
There are new characters next to various fish characters in Japanese food shops
Don't be afraid, Yahuijun will explain it to you one by one!
<h1>"Bass" and "bass"</h1>
"Sushi God" documentary
Most Japanese food shops write sushi as "bass", and many sushi restaurants in Japan write a large "bass" on the flag in front of the entrance. The word "bass" actually originated in China, and it is recorded in the earliest character book "Erya", "Fish, called bass", which shows that before the word was introduced to Japan, the ancestors of our country named it a certain kind of fish cuisine.
A curtain with the word "鮨" hanging in front of a Japanese sushi restaurant
Another Kanji that the Japanese borrowed as the name of a dish is "鲊", which first appeared in the Shuowen Jiezi, "鲊, Hidden Fish Also", indicating that this is a method of preserving fish meat. The "Interpretation" gives a specific explanation of this method: "鲊, 滓也." It is stuffed with salt rice like a leaf, cooked and eaten. "It means wrapping the fish in rice, salting it, and when it is cooked, peeling off the surface of the rice, the fish can eat."
So how do you pronounce these two words? In Japan, both words are pronounced "sushi". That's right, sushi. So when you see these two words, they represent sushi.
A sushi restaurant that uses the word "鮨" as its name
<h1>a</h1> tuna
Tuna is tuna, known in Hong Kong as "Tuna" (transliteration of Tuna in English). There is a special word in Japanese, "とろ" (pronounced similar to torah), which refers specifically to the "high-fat fish meat" located in the belly of the tuna , that is, the fish belly.
tuna
Tuna is large, and Japanese chefs who know how to eat a whole tuna will divide a whole tuna into three categories: "Ōtsuki (大脂), 中トロ (中脂) and 赤身"
A breakdown of the whole body of a tuna
Fatty fat is the richest and fattest. The fat content of medium fat is moderate, and the entrance can feel the sweetness and femininity of the fat, and can also feel the slight sour taste of the fish, which is the taste and taste between the large fat and the naked body. Naked people have the least fat, the lowest calories, and the highest protein. Although many people prefer the feeling of big fat bursting, the light and slightly sour taste of tuna that is characteristic of naked body is actually quite intriguing.
Division of different parts of tuna meat
Since being naked is the cheapest part, it has become synonymous with tuna in general sushi restaurants, and the tuna sushi you order is made with naked.
Tuna sushi
Since tuna is a large family, the Japanese have also made a ranking for them, and the ranking is of course based on the degree of deliciousness as the only criterion.
No.1: Bluefin tuna (bluefin tuna)
No.2 person: Southern bluefin tuna (Indian tuna) South Gold Clam
3rd person: Mebas tuna (Dharma) Large eye gold skull
No.4: Yellow-yellow clams
No.5: Binnaga tuna (dragonfly) 长鳍 枪鱼
Schools of tuna
At the famous Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan, a New Year's auction is held every Year during the New Year. The highest price in 2018 this year was 36.45 million yen (about 2.09 million yuan) for a 405-kilogram bluefin tuna, equivalent to paying 90,000 yen (about 5,156 yuan) per kilogram.
Winner of the 2018 auction
The highest record for a tuna auction was in 2013, when a sushi restaurant bought a 222-kilogram bluefin tuna for 155 million yen .000 yuan.
The media rushed to report on the auction winners
<h1>Bonito Bonito</h1>
Bonito
Bonito is a close relative of the "Big V" tuna in front of you, but the price is far away. So many small shops will sell bonito to pretend to be tuna.
Bonito sashimi
Bonito generally does not appear in the form of sushi or sashimi in China, and the correct use should be used as an ingredient. At this time, we have to mention another incarnation of it - "wooden fish flower". Yes, it is the thin skin like wood chips sprinkled on the "octopus balls" that you eat, which is actually made of bonito meat.
Small octopus balls sprinkled with wooden fish flowers
Secondly, in many Japanese soups, such as noodle soup, wooden fish meal is added to freshen up.
Noodle soup
<h1>Salmon Salmon Salmon</h1>
Atlantic salmon
Salmon, which is what we often call salmon (the transliteration of English salmon).
Salmon is also a large family, and the salmon mentioned in Japanese materials refers strictly to Atlantic salmon.
Salmon sold at Tsukiji Market in Japan
In view of the familiarity of the salmon as an "internet celebrity" among the public, Yahuijun is not much verbose. Just one thing to emphasize: broadly speaking, salmon are a large family with many members. But when it comes to eating, the first choice is atlantic salmon, represented by Norway, followed by Alaskan salmon in the United States and Canada, both of which are wild sea salmon. As for salmon produced in other regions, some are farmed, and some are different species (such as freshwater rainbow trout and salmon produced in northeast China), both in terms of meat quality and taste, which are much worse than the two previously mentioned.
Salmon sashimi
<h1>Eel</h1>
eel
Eels, we also call eels, white eels.
The eel used in authentic Japanese food is the "Japanese eel" from Japan, also known as the white eel, which is called うなぎ (UNAGI) in Japanese. Although born in the sea, it migrates and lives in fresh water. Japanese eels are fatty and delicious, and as the protagonists of kaguya eel and eel rice, they still play a pivotal role in the eel ingredients in Japanese cuisine.
Grilled eel
Eel rice
Unfortunately, according to Japanese media, japanese eel fry fishing suffered a rare fish shortage in 2017, and Shizuoka Prefecture only caught 184 grams in december, and the overall catch was only 1% of the same period last year. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the Japanese eel as an endangered (EN) species. It turns out that this kind of thing is not only in China! [Laughs]
Original grilled eel
Therefore, the eels we eat in China are generally produced in the coastal areas and rivers of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and other provinces, and the Guangdong people call it "white eel". Then cook according to the japanese ingredients.
Grilled eel dipped in eel juice
<h1>Mackerel Mackerel</h1>
mackerel
Mackerel is a relatively common and inexpensive fish, and its slender appearance often makes people mistaken for saury.
Since mackerel is very rich in oil and relatively tender meat, the most suitable way to cook is barbecue. Grilled on a charcoal fire to make the meat tender and moist, enough fresh mackerel to taste with just a little salt to taste good enough. The fresh and rich flavor of natural fish oil is mesmerizing, and adding any other seasonings is superfluous. This is the famous salt-roasted mackerel.
Grilled mackerel
In addition, fresh mackerel can also be made into sushi and sashimi. There are also vinegar mackerel sushi and vinegar mackerel sashimi made after being salted and vinegar-cured.
Vinegar mackerel sushi
Vinegar mackerel sashimi
Incidentally, let's talk about saury. Saury and mackerel are slender and grilled, so many people will not be able to distinguish the difference between the two. It is not easy to distinguish when cooked, but the difference is still quite large when living. The two belong to different fish species, and they are not even related.
Saury. There is still a clear difference in appearance from mackerel
The best quality season for saury is autumn, so it is called saury. A common way to cook it is to grill the whole fish with salt and serve it with radish puree. Saury has a bitter taste, but most diners do not remove the intestines, but instead use soy sauce or lemon juice to season the salted saury. They believe that the salty umami taste of soy sauce or the sour taste of lemon combined with the bitter taste of the fish itself is the best flavor of saury.
Grilled saury
<h1>I want to go</h1>
Snapper
Snapper has a high status in Japanese food because its name is festive (the Japanese pronunciation of snapper is reminiscent of "gratifying"), and the color is festive (it is very festive with red fluttering). Therefore, since ancient times, the figure of sea bream can be seen at the wedding feast of the Japanese.
Grilled sea bream with festive elements
Snapper is also eaten in the same categories as sushi, sashimi, and grill. However, when it comes to sea bream sashimi, it is necessary to mention a unique Japanese method of killing fish" "live": first pierce the fish's brain through a sharp tool, resulting in the death of the fish brain; then insert a wire into the spine of the fish, strangle the nerves, so that the fish's muscles are relaxed and not tense; and then bleed, remove the effect of bloody smell on the fish meat. After completing this series of steps, the belly of the fish is cut open for sashimi. When it was finally served, the whole plate of sashimi still maintained the size of the fish, and although the body was unloaded into eight pieces, the mouth of the fish could still be closed, as if it was still alive. This is the best way to show sashimi craftsmanship.
Snapper sashimi
Speaking of snapper, let's mention by the way, a dim sum from Tokyo, Japan, the sea bream grill. It is mainly made of flour, sugar, milk and baking soda, and is shaped like the fruit of sea bream, usually filled with red beans. Looking at this cute cartoon shape, you know that the Japanese people love sea bream.
Seabream grilled
<h1>Sardines</h1>
sardine
The squid is what we often call sardines (sardines and sand tip fish are not the same kind of fish, and this is often confused).
These small fish usually give the impression of swimming in dense and packed oceans, reduced to a variety of large fish food. I don't know if this is the reason, so when the Japanese named them, they were directly next to the word "weak" and the word fish was added.
Large fish are preying on schools of sardines
Because of its small size, sardines are generally eaten grilled in whole pieces. The slight acidity of lemon juice can make the sardines taste better and fresher. The frying of sardines into tempura is also very delicious.
Grilled sardines
Sardine tempura
<h1>Sawara</h1>
Blue-spotted mackerel
Squid, that is, mackerel, in China also known as maga squid, earth bass, mackerel. There are many species of mackerel, but there is only one species known in Japan as the "mackerel" – the blue-spotted mackerel.
Squids
The taste of the squid is not as heavy as other silver-bodied fish (such as saury and mackerel), and it has a faint umami and sweet taste, and there is no domineering fishy taste. Moreover, the meat fat content of the eels is low, and it will not feel greasy to eat (there is a clear difference between tuna and salmon, which are fatter and more expensive). So the squirrel has its own bunch of awayees.
The taste of the eels is light and suitable for raw eating
The way of eating is generally sashimi, and there is also a barbecue method.
Sashimi of the squid
Nishikyo-yaki of the Sachio
Perhaps because of this light taste of the steamed bun and the closeness of the glyph to the spring "spring" character, the literati often use "鰆" as the seasonal language of spring in haiku, which also adds to the literary sense of this ingredient.
Oshi sushi with a feeling of spring
<h1>Bora</h1>
mullet
Mullet is also a common mullet in China, called aconitum in Guangdong. Marine mullet is selected in Japanese food, and most of the food in China is freshwater mullet.
Mullet is actually not very popular with the Japanese, and they value a certain part of the mullet's body - the female mullet's ovaries "mullet roe". The Japanese have a long history of eating mullet roe, and they feel that the sliced mullet roe is very similar to the ink pieces from China, so they name it "Tang Mo" and consider it to be one of the three major delicacies in the world (the fourth episode of the first season of "China on the Tip of the Tongue").
Mullet roe
Incidentally, the three major delicacies that the Japanese consider are Yundan (sea urchin), yuzi (sea cucumber ovary), and Tang Mo (mullet roe).
To make mullet roe into several steps such as salting, salting, wine staining, preparation, and sun drying, the whole process takes about a month. The resulting mullet roe is slightly salty and has a cheese-like taste, and was regarded as a sake delicacy in ancient Japan. Now Taiwan also produces mullet roe, and the yield and quality are not worse than those in Japan.
Mullet roe in the sun
Here's a friendly reminder that mullet roe tastes the same as durian, and not everyone can accept it. The one who loves loves it likes it crazy, and the one who hates it is crazy. Therefore, it is recommended that you be mentally prepared before trying.
Grill over low heat before eating to allow the aroma of mullet roe to emanate. When eating, it is best to accompany the refreshing taste of melon vegetables, and it is most recommended to pair with white radish.
Mullet roe with white radish
Mullet roe sandwich
In addition to the above mentioned these common fish, there are some other fish in the Japanese food, although the names are different, but basically can correspond to our daily fish one by one, here is not much to say.
Finally, a picture is attached, and interested friends can carefully compare it.
Chinese-Japanese comparison of various fish names