Continuing from the above article (click on the past life of "Edo-mae" cuisine), whether it is Ono Jiro, Or Kanemoto Kenjiro, or even Tetsuya Hayotome, the reason why they can be called the three masters of "Edo-mae" is not only the sushi, eel and tempura flavors in their hands, but also because of their adherence to the "Edo-mae" fishing tradition.
So, how much do you really know about the "Edo-mae" catch?
Let's start with an example. It was the first time Xiaobian went to Tokyo many years ago, just on the first day of Tokyo, because before in Shanghai, eating salmon sashimi felt delicious, as a result, in the evening, I found a good seafood restaurant, and then according to the most expensive menu, I slammed a large plate of raw fish dishes made of various "Edo-mae" fish, as shown below:
The Tokyo restaurant that hurts the editor, Abu / Photography
Eat the wounded editor's plate of raw fish dishes, Abu / photography
Because there are other kinds of seafood, this plate of various raw fish dishes, in the end, Xiaobian only ate half of it, and then, in the past five years, except for a few small pieces of seabream sashimi in Nagoya Shinoshima in May this year, I can no longer eat raw seafood.
If you think about the collapse of eating seafood, you actually suffered from not knowing the ingredients of "Edo-mae" at all, and thinking that there was only tuna sushi in Japan. Just by looking at the picture above, you will know that the ingredients of "Edo-mae" are definitely not as simple as tuna.
Later, Xiaobian read several books before finally understanding the situation of the ingredients in "Edo-mae", and it was also necessary to sort out the materials I had read in the past, in view of the plate of raw fish dishes I ate in Tokyo.
Of course, we also found a rare review of the "sushi god" OnoJiro on the "Edo-mae" catch, so it is the "God Review", which is really not as simple as the bluefin tuna introduced earlier, but also excerpts some wonderful parts.
The two parts add up, the content is not too much, not less, 10,000 words, if you can read it, we estimate that compared with the average diners who travel to Japan, you are probably half ahead of you. Really, "Edomae" is more than just tuna.
Nearly 100 species of "Edomae" catches
Let's start with the catch at the Tsukiji Market (now moved to Toyosu).
According to the Tsukiji Market Summary for the 25th Year of the Heisei Market, issued by the Tsukiji Market in 2013, the average daily volume of aquatic products traded in the Tsukiji market can reach 2,000 tons, equivalent to a cash flow of 1.8 billion yen, and the types of fish caught are about 480.
Before moving to Toyosu last fall, Tsukiji was not only the main sales place for the "Edo-mae" fish catch, but was already considered the largest fish market in the world, and I was impressed by the English reading comprehension I did in high school, one of which was about the Tsukiji market.
Last year, when Tsukiji Market was relocated to Toyosu, it was a scene inside the venue
How many of these fish in the Tsukiji Market are "Edo-mae" catches?
According to Fukuji's "Sushi Handbooks - The Complete Book of Catches at Tsukiji Market" and other sources, the answer is nearly 100 kinds.
Another point that has to be said is that, similar to the increasingly rare eel, the "Edomae" catch is becoming less and less, which can be seen from the change in the number of fishery workers in the Tokyo Bay of Japan.
In Tokyo Bay, compared with the 30,000 people in its heyday, only about 3,000 people are sticking to their old business. In 1955, the annual fishery production in Tokyo Bay was as high as 150,000 tons, and now only about 50,000 tons are left.
But even these nearly 100 species of "Edomae" catches are still worth mentioning. Just as "Edomae" cuisine is not only tuna sushi, "Edomae" catches more than Japanese offshore bluefin tuna and eel.
Specifically, it can be divided into seven broad categories:
One: red fish
It can also be understood as a fish whose flesh color is red. In addition to tuna, you can see that there are also yellow sailfish, bonito, and salmon.
Bonito red body
The flesh color of the yellow swordfish is cherry blossom color, the taste looks light, but it is delicious, it is compared to tuna, tuna is fatter than the abdomen, but its back is the fattest, the meat around the dorsal fin is the most expensive. Bonito is a type of fish that is available all year round at Tsukiji Market, and its best season is the first bonito from April to June, and the other is the migration in September, because it is ready to spawn and accumulate fat, which is fat and attractive.
The salmon in the red body fish are mainly from Norway and Chile, that is, the farmed Atlantic salmon and red salmon.
The Norwegians had a great vision, and in the 1980s they made aquaculture a national industry and exported salmon to Japan, where salmon could be shipped day and night after they came out of the water.
This not only makes Norwegian fish go to the world, but also contributes greatly to the world of Japanese sushi, because consumers in Europe and the United States are familiar with salmon, and Japanese sushi regards it as one of the main ingredients, and as a result, it also hitchs a ride to the world.
Salmon red body
Jiro Ono Reviews:
Tuna primarily uses the upper abdomen of offshore bluefin tuna, which has the best fat content from late autumn to winter, and for airlifted tuna, Pacific bluefin tuna from Los Angeles, Boston and the Mediterranean is used only when offshore tuna is not available.
If you can't find your own satisfactory bonito, you don't use it for the whole season; bonito sushi can only be used in the spring, and the migratory bonito in the autumn cannot be used because the fat of the migratory bonito is too greasy. Although the bonito that has just been launched in the spring is not fat, it has a refreshing taste and is endlessly evocative.
In mid-April, the first bonito caught on the Fangzong Peninsula is as soft as the cherry blossoms in spring, and it ripples with a special aroma that makes people think: "Spring is coming!" ”
Migratory bonito is an autumn chrysanthemum with a strong aroma.
No, I'm not saying "migratory is hard to eat", fat migration is really delicious. Still, I think the beauty of bonito isn't just fat. And that freshness itself is special, like the edamame in September.
In this regard, migratory bonito is decisively different from the new bonito in early spring. That's why I don't. What's more, the red body after entering the autumn is a tuna...
Second: light objects
That is, the main ingredient made of various small fish caught from Tokyo Bay and marinated with vinegar or kelp is called light.
Light objects include:
Small fins, new seeds, needlefish, sandfish, haruko, sardines, Pacific herring, horse mackerel, saury, mackerel, etc.
Shinko and Little Fin, Abu/Photography
Among them, the new child and the small fin are the same kind of fish, but the size is different. Starting from the new child, as it grows up, it will be called "small fin", "medium ink", "nest spotted dumpling"
"Shinko" is very precious, especially the first goods can reach tens of thousands of yen / kg, Ono Jiro recalled, one year even as high as 90,000 yen. As for the "small fin", the price of one kilogram is also tens of thousands of yen, it is about 12-14 cm long, and it also holds the same sushi at one end.
Shinko is always the pain of the owner of the Japanese food store, even Jiro Ono.
Every June when the new head goods come, the number is small and expensive, sushi shop in order to show their identity and ability to taste the early, no matter how high the price also has to buy, at the same time, in the eyes of consumers, the new child is a cheap Japanese food, a few new seeds to hold out the consistent cuisine, can not sell very expensive, so it has become a loss of money to make a lot of money.
The first shinko generally comes from Lake Hamana in Japan, commonly known as "Maisaka Shinko", and later appeared in large numbers from Amakusa in Kumamoto Prefecture.
And when the "small fin" continues to grow and becomes "medium ink", it is not so golden, even cats will dislike it, but it can be thoroughly pickled with vinegar, and the taste is still delicious.
The best taste of needlefish spawned in spring is actually in the cold period from December to February every year; sandbags are at the peak of shipments during the rainy season and continue until the end of summer;
As for Haruko, it is a juvenile of the real seabream and yellow-toothed seabream, which can only be slightly marinated in kelp to release an amazingly rich taste. It also tests the true skill of Edo-style sushi, that is, pulling small thorns, which also makes many Japanese food shops reluctant to sell Haruko sushi.
Haruko Sushi, Abu / Photography
The sardines are the fattest during the rainy season and last until autumn, and the small sardines in Osaka Bay are not bad in winter. As the main ingredient of sushi after the Showa period, the fat behind the fish skin emits a silvery glow that is uncompromising, and the light objects come from here.
Sushi made with Pacific herring is best known for its "fermented sushi" with dried herring in Tohoku and Hokkaido. Fresh Pacific herring sushi appeared around 2000 in the Tokyo area, and in terms of taste, it is more chewy than sardines and has no special bitter taste.
Horse mackerel is one of the staple ingredients of sushi since ancient times, and it is also a fish often used in deli food, which is available all year round, but it is the fattest in early summer.
Saury is a popular item of "Light Objects". It is easy to deteriorate when caught, so it needs a full cold chain, which also makes it not until the 1990s that it was sent to a larger Japanese food consumption market. In July, saury head goods appeared in Tsukiji Market, and fat and fat continued until autumn.
Saury
Only saury head goods, in the Tsukiji market can enjoy the treatment of planting flags at the beginning of the year "tou market", the most beautiful autumn, encounter the fattest saury, should be a beautiful thing.
White-bellied mackerel appears in the Inner Bay of Tokyo Bay in September, after which mackerel from Shikoku, Kyushu, and Tohoku also arrives in large quantities and continues until winter, when it is usually soaked in vinegar and then held into sushi, preferably for those with fat flesh.
Jiro Ono's review:
The small fin basically only uses the size of the sushi that can hold the whole fish, and sometimes uses half a piece of fish body from June to July; the new child starts with four one hand, three, two, until the whole fish is held, the size will become larger day by day;
Sagami Bay horse pods, which cannot be seen several times a year, are the best, followed by Tokyo Bay; the fat thickness of the middle feather sardines is most suitable for holding sushi, and fat sardines are rarely seen in recent years;
Mackerel must be strictly selected for the fattest, marinated in vinegar and left overnight. The "horizontal stick of holding sushi" is a small fin, and every time I eat it, my throat will cheer itself.
sardine
The biggest difference in flavor between season and season is the sardine, which is a fish that is very susceptible to spoilage. Only after receiving the order will I take the sardines out of the freezer and process them before making sushi. Then again, sardines are really fish with an extreme difference in flavor between seasons and seasons.
Wakasa's mackerel is a high-end product that makes people look at it. I think from the bottom of my heart that the fat and fat seasonal vinegar mackerel is really delicious...
Third: whitefish
The so-called white fish, that is, fish with white flesh, are purchased more live fish.
Whitefish include:
Flounder, true seabream, seven-star perch, catfish, spiny hornfish, peeled fish, yellow-covered flounder, red-throated fish, Otaki six-line fish, golden-eyed seabream, pufferfish, green sweetfish, longitudinal trevally, yellowtailtail, red calamus and so on.
Flounder, which is almost exclusively purchased for live fish, is generally found in September, and prices begin to rise until the end of the year, when its delicacies peak. The meat is fat, the most chewy on the day of slaughter on the same day, and the chewy strength is slightly lost the next day but more delicious.
True snapper is also a fish that is almost exclusively purchased for live fish. From January to March every year, the seabream is about to lay its eggs, which is its best season. During the Edo period, it was also an indispensable fish for the shogun's family's wedding banquet, but it was also unrelated to the common people due to its high price, and this state continued until the Showa period.
Because of its high value, the real seabream was also the first fish to start studying aquaculture. At present, eight of the overall production of real seabream are farmed real seabream, but they are well farmed and the taste is not worse than that of wild ones.
True snapper
The seven-star perch is a promoted fish that constantly changes its name with its growth stage, and the peak season begins from the rainy season to the end of the summer. The catch of seven-star perch in Tokyo Bay has not yet decayed, but Tsukiji's best rated items along the Coast of Japan from Kyoto Maizuru to Sado Island, followed by Mie and Aichi prefectures.
The flesh of the mackerel is as firm as a pufferfish, and it is often used for thin cutting, and it can be tasted as a side dish at the sushi restaurant reception since the 1970s.
The pectoral fins of the spiny horn fish are spread out like peacocks opening the screen, and vague cries can occasionally be heard in the tanks. The pectoral fins are spread out to frighten enemies, and the cry is the sound of the maw contracting. The fat of this fish in the cold period will emit a subtle sweetness, and the live fish is purchased, up to 40 cm long, and the size of the Japanese food is just right.
The skin of the peeling fish is rough like a file, but it can be easily peeled off, the taste is similar to the pufferfish, the liver becomes larger around October, and the price begins to rise all the way to around March. Its fish sushi and liver are well matched, and it is even more delicious than wild, and is best known for its artificial farming in Oita Prefecture and Kagoshima.
The yellow flounder is also a live fish trader, and it is representative of the white-bodied fish in summer. Every year in March and April, when the flounder is thin, it is almost ready to appear. The best rated one is Tokyo Bay, which can grow up to about 1 kilogram. Yellow flounder in summer is more delicious than flounder in winter.
Red-throated fish is named after the black inside of its throat and is delicious when stewed.
The most delicious season for Otaki rokusaki is in the spring, when prices rise just after February and continue until around August, when they are produced in Aomori Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Hokkaido.
Golden-eyed snapper
Goldeneye seabream is a fish that has nothing to do with sea bream, the name comes from its large eyes as a deep-sea fish, it has only been listed as raw fish in recent years, it can be made as skin cream sushi, and in the Tsukiji market, chosper production is the most highly rated.
Puffer fish needless to say, delicious. The pursuit of its taste has shown a trend of "hot in the west and cold in the east" in Japan.
The belly fat of the green sweet fish that enters December can even match the fat of tuna and lasts until February. Also known as "HanQinggan", it is produced in Sado Island and Noto and is listed in large quantities in December. After the autumn, qinggan, which travels north from the Sea of Japan to Hokkaido, is called "Heavenly Qinggan".
Green sweetfish
The longitudinal banded trevally can grow to more than 1 meter, but the most popular is about 50 cm, the fat is not fatty, the umami is rich, and the taste is incomparable.
Yellowtail amberjack is a good partner of Qinggan, which can grow more than 2 meters at most, and the Tsukiji market is mostly about 1 meter. Compared with Aogan, it catches less and relies mostly on artificial farming, which is farmed in Oita and Nagasaki prefectures.
Red ganji and green sweet fish, yellowtail amberjack are good brothers, the maximum can grow to 20 kilograms, Tsukiji market in about 10 kilograms, it has to "wake up", equivalent to curing 2 to 3 days to produce a taste, the largest production area in Kagoshima, mainly farmed fish.
A lionfish caught on Shinoshima Island in Japan in May this year, Photo / Abu
Flounder accumulates fat from the frost season and waits until it becomes caramel colored to be the most delicious; unlike flounder, the yellow-capped flounder is in season in summer, but the edges of the fish cannot be used; the longitudinal trevally is only used wild, because it is different from artificial farming, the flesh is tighter and the taste is lighter; the seven-star perch from the inland sea has a smell of oil and cannot be bought, so you can only choose Fukuko, or use the smaller seven-star perch from June.
The white body in the warm season is the yellow flounder of Fukushima, although the so-called "king of the white body" star flounder is also in season, but compared to the yellow flounder, the biggest disadvantage of the star flounder is that the freshness of the fish is not long enough.
Suppose a hundred people who prefer white bodies try the star flounder and the yellow flounder and then ask them, "Which is the yellow flounder and which is the star flounder?"
In contrast, the fish body of the yellow flounder is firmer, more masculine and more crisp, in contrast, the star flounder has more white body and mellow characteristics, the fish body is not so strong, but the taste is more mellow, or more concentrated.
If you talk about the rank of white body, the sea bream should take the lead. Compare delicious snapper with delicious flounder, and flounder will have no chance of winning. But I don't hold snapper. Why? Because compared to the best Aomori flounder in my mind, the sea bream swimming in the Tsukiji tank is not very tasty.
A seabream caught on The Island of Japan in May this year, Photo / Abu
When I was working in Osaka, I ate Akashi's sea bream for the first time in my life, and the first experience left me with such a strong impression that I still remember the taste of that time more than forty years later.
It is comparable to the Kanto sea bream that I know, the freshness of the fish body is different, the color is different, the taste is different, the sweetness is different, and the aroma is different. Ah, it turned out that the sea bream was so delicious, it was really an indescribable delicacy.
No matter what kind of fish, I will never use artificial culture. Because even if the appearance is the same, the taste will be very different. It's also difficult for Tokyo to get a steady supply of Naruto bone snapper in the Seto Inland Sea, so whenever I receive an order for seabream, I always reply, "I'm sorry, but the only white body in our shop in winter is flounder." "Also, I don't plan to make snapper sushi in the future."
Because since ancient times, the winter white body of Tokyo sushi restaurants has been flounder...
Fourth: shellfish
It includes:
Red shellfish, Chinese clams, small pillars, Japanese birdtail clams, Quetzalcoatl, Sail Shellfish, Sea Pine Shellfish, Abalone, Conch, Arctic Shellfish, etc.
Red shells are scarlet in color and have a refreshing taste, and have been the main protagonists of shellfish since ancient times. More than half of the supply comes from China and South Korea, and the Chinese red shellfish is a natural wild species, and the quality of the winter peak season is close to that of the Japanese red shellfish.
Chinese clams are called green willow in Japanese, Chinese clams from Tokyo Bay have a dark orange shell, the meat is thick and fragrant, hokkaido is milky white, the size is larger, if you like the meat thick and fresh taste, recommended Hokkaido products.
The small pillar is the shell pillar of Chinese clams, Ando Bay is one of the shipping places, with a unique sweetness and unique chewiness, especially the small pillar produced in Tokyo Bay, orange is highly praised, but in recent years, the more widely circulated is the Hokkaido small pillar.
For the remaining types of shellfish, those interested in shellfish can refer to the following ono Jiro's opinion, which will not be described here.
clam
The thick and fragrant blood clam meat produced in Miyagi Prefecture is the best choice; in July and August, Miyagi bans fishing and turns to the use of blood clams from Ise, Kyushu and Kannon Temple; the aroma and sweetness of the sea pine shells are the best in Atsumi; the tori tail clams from Mikawa, with a dark and shiny surface, are carefully selected and returned from the purchase of thick flesh;
The crisp-tasting pipa abalone is more suitable for sashimi sushi, and the lighter-colored large yaozhu is from Hokkaido, and the small orange yaozhu is from Fuzu and Ise.
Clams (clams) are traditional sushi themes. Why would people in the past use it for sushi themes? That's because there are a lot of clams caught in Tokyo Bay.
However, many sushi restaurants in Tokyo do not use that theme. The reason why the technique of wen clams is not widely spread is because there are many bosses who do not even understand the method. In this way, the apprentices who worship his master will not understand it, and they will not hold that kind of sushi after returning to their hometown to be independent. So it can't spread.
Shellfish have the characteristic that the more they are cooked, the harder they are. Therefore, the clams can only be boiled in water quickly, and then put into the clams boiled in the sauce mixed with sugar, soy sauce and cooking wine made of clam sauce into the marinade, this treatment method is the same as shrimp and maggots, are called "pickling".
The production areas are Shima and Mie, but the number of pure domestic products is sparse, and almost all of them are Korean clams that have been stocked in the Shima and Kuwana seas for about half a year. As long as it is accustomed to the environment of the Sea of Japan, the original hard shellfish will become softer, the aroma and taste will be much better, and it will not be much different from the clams produced in Edo before.
However, if you use Korean clams directly, you will be finished. It tastes like chewing wax, and in terms of meat quality, even a master of pickling cannot soften such a hard meat. Obviously, it is such a hopeless thing, as long as it is cultivated in the sea of Japan for a period of time, it can conjure up a certain flavor, why is this?
I think it's okay to have some Chinese clams in the store, as long as there is a good enough supply. But after I made it once a few years ago, I never used it to hold sushi again, probably because the unique taste of shellfish is too strong. Few customers in the shop like Chinese clams, so even if they are purchased, they will eventually be eaten by myself.
Kaoru
There are other shellfish that I wouldn't use to hold sushi. The first is scallops. Because almost all the goods in the market are artificially farmed, there is no value in making sushi.
There are also regular customers who will let me "hold a cymbal", this shellfish can be purchased. Although it is possible, as a sushi theme, its taste is too heavy to be popular. Most likely, I will use it to fry or butter to make an employee's lunch.
To say where the best shellfish in Japan used to come from is, of course, tokyo bay. But now all shellfish habitats are being filled in on land. It is said that the best blood clam producing area in Edo since ancient times was the Kanmi River in Chiba, when "Kanmi River" became synonymous with blood clams.
Not only blood clams, but also sea pine shellfish were produced there before. Even clams and clams can be caught. And it is more delicious than anywhere, and Yaozhu is also a must.
Of course, the current Edo Yaozhu is also very tasty, but it is getting smaller and smaller. Although it doesn't matter if it's small, the key is that there is a lot of sand mixed in it, and how to get it can't be done. When the sand is removed, only half of what can be used is left. So now I'm using the big grain yao pillar in Aomori or Hokkaido.
Bird-tailed clams
The most memorable is the bird's tail clam in Edo. The largest tail clam meat can even reach 1.5 cm thick and has a soft taste, like a fleece blanket. The largest box of birdtail clams can now hold 6, but it was only enough for 3 in the past. The previous Edo bird tail clam was so spectacular.
Obviously, a piece of clam meat is so big that it needs to be cut into three parts to make sushi, but the taste is very smooth. Usually, the flesh of shellfish that is too large will be very hard, but the tail clam will not, whether it is sweet or fragrant, it is endlessly evocative.
Now there is only one person left in our shop. Whenever I reach the realm of the bird's tail clam, the gentleman who is one round younger than me will definitely say to me:
"Now the bird's tail clam..."
Remember the old taste, only me and him were left...
Fifth: shrimp, shrimp maggots
It includes: spotted shrimp, sweet shrimp, peony shrimp, shrimp shrimp, white shrimp, shrimp worms and so on.
In the "Sushi God" documentary, ono Jiro goes to Tsukiji Market to buy shrimp, the fish shop owner catches the spotted shrimp. It is basically a live shrimp trade, and the shrimp house in the farm has a sink. Large-scale captive farming began in the 1960s, and most of the current Tsukiji market is farmed shrimp, mainly from Nagasaki and Kumamoto prefectures, in addition to Chinese sources.
Every spring to autumn, there are also natural wild spotted shrimp on the scene, wild spotted shrimp can still be caught in the shallow sea west of Tokyo Bay, and wild shrimp from Edo school can be caught in Tomitsu and Takeoka along the shores of Tokyo Bay in summer, and there is little difference between wild shrimp and farmed shrimp raw food, but after cooking, the outline of natural shrimp after cooking will be clearer and clearer, and sushi made of raw shrimp is called "Yong Sushi".
Sweet shrimp is a basic raw shrimp, personally do not like that soft sticky taste, probably because it is frozen shrimp bar. Japan's sweet shrimp production is very rare, after the 1980s, most of them are imported from the Russian Far East and The Alaska region of Japan, and the price is close to the people, so it is popular.
Shrimp cockroaches
It is very difficult to buy wild prawns of the same size when using the large-spotted prawns in Tokyo Bay, and the shrimp maggots produced in Yokohama Koshiba are used for pickling, and only shrimp seeds are used, so the season is limited to April to mid-June.
The shrimp in our shop are particularly large, and all of them have shrimp seeds. The reason for this is that I like the crisp and raw taste of shrimp seeds, and I will pick seeds for each purchase. Perhaps because of this, the guests also liked the crisp raw shrimp and cockroaches.
The shrimp and moths in the market are mixed together and sold in small boxes. So why can I buy female shrimp clams with shrimp seeds?
The secret is not to choose shrimp and clams, but to choose shrimp seeds. Because I can see at a glance whether the shrimp and maggots have seeds, I will do it myself, "put this box with shrimp seeds, and put them elsewhere without shrimp seeds" to distinguish them. Because the owner of the shrimp shop has been friends with me for a long time, he will also let me act this waywardly.
That said, he wouldn't complain: "Jiro is too willful." ”
Because contrary to me, many sushi shop owners think, "Male shrimp and maggots that are easy to fit into rice are more suitable for making grip sushi." ”
There are also many customers who love to eat shrimp and cockroaches, regardless of whether there are shrimp seeds in it. In fact, occasionally some guests in my family will say: "It's not bad to use it to make appetizers, but when you hold it into sushi, don't you think shrimp seeds will affect the taste?" ”
Whenever I receive such a request, I will specially select shrimp seeds with fewer shrimp seeds for the guests, and if the shrimp and maggots are all swollen that day, I will pretend not to hear. After working as a sushi restaurant owner for so many years, this trick can still be played.
Tokyo Bay, near Kanagawa, can catch a sushi theme with excellent quality. Shrimp maggots are small firewood. The cave is Nojima, and as for the spotted shrimp, yokosuka off the sea is the best. Although the Tomizu on the other side is not bad, it is a pity that the size and number of people cannot meet the requirements.
Why is the Edo area the best? That's because it's the best combination, whether it's sweet, fragrant, or blanched color.
This may be because the food is plentiful.
Pentaker shrimp
If the seawater is not contaminated to a certain extent, the food suitable for the shrimp will not grow. "Water to clear shrimp", Tokyo Bay has once again become an excellent habitat for spotted shrimp.
Although fish and shellfish have begun to inhabit Tokyo Bay again, in fact, there is still a smell of oil. Seven-star perch that inhabit shallow waters cannot be used. Aconitum fish can't even be touched, but the spotted shrimp that inhabit the seabed do not get greasy.
Twice a year, the prawn seasons. These are the spring when the sea temperature rises and shrimp activity begins to be frequent, and the early autumn to winter when the sea temperature rises and the shrimp activity begins to be frequent, and the early autumn to winter when preparing to enter hibernation and save a lot of fat, but I think the spring shrimp is the most delicious.
In the spring, the shrimp is fat and fat, and the shrimp paste left on the board when peeling the shell is even difficult to wash off.
Of course, there are also sushi workers who claim that "summer is only in season". Because the weather is cold, the shrimp will burrow into the sediment of the seabed to hibernate, so the largest production should be summer, but somehow, the shrimp in the Edo area seems not to hibernate, because winter can also be seen in the market, so I can purchase Edo shrimp all year round...
Sixth: squid and octopus
Mother squid, cuttlefish, spear squid, white squid, northern squid, firefly squid, large octopus, ordinary octopus.
The squid's cubs are called cuttlefish, and when they grow up, they are squid, and the largest squid is called squid.
Making sushi with raw squid was a matter of the early Showa period, and before that, Japanese people used to cook or blanch it to eat it. As a mollusk, various squid combinations appear seasonally throughout the year.
Spring is the season for squid and white squid, and when autumn arrives, cuttlefish begin to be juicy and fattening, while spear squid also begins to appear on the yard in place of white squid.
squid
In the Tsukiji market, you can rely on squid to perceive the changes of the four seasons, octopus is an important ingredient that relies on taste and flavor aroma to highlight its own existence, and ordinary octopus from Africa has now occupied the mainstream market, but japanese octopus is more aromatic and delicious when it is first cooked.
As for the mother squid, it is the largest squid that can be seen on the market, with a length of nearly 40 centimeters, the highest price, often taking 2 to 3 days to "wake up" it to "wake up" its real good taste, and it has another nickname called "King of Squid".
The cuttlefish looks black on the surface, but the skin is peeled off but the flesh is fat and tender, and it is enjoyed as the cub of the squid under the name of "new squid", and the cuttlefish produced in Kagoshima in late July can be sold for tens of thousands of yen per kilogram.
A squid can hold 4 sushi in size, and will grow to the size of 8 sushi around March; cuttlefish can only hold 1-2 sushi in the early August to early September, which is the unique taste of this season;
Because the mother squid is processed as a live animal, the meat is very hard, and it is more suitable for making sashimi to highlight the taste.
The cuttlefish, which goes on sale in August, is the messenger who brings early autumn to a sushi restaurant. Squid grows very fast, and during the cuttlefish period, it can also make sushi with whole or two pickled sauces, and at the end of the summer, when autumn is getting stronger, it will grow into the size of squid that can be seen in fish shops.
So once you miss an opportunity, you have to wait another year. It is precisely because of this that many guests will wait anxiously every year, silently thinking in their hearts:
"Haven't you come out yet?" Haven't it come out yet? ”
When it comes to squid with a sushi theme, ordinary squid is the best in terms of texture and combination with sushi rice. This is my personal opinion.
Expensive mother squid are the best to make sashimi. Because of this, it is called the "King of Summer Squid", so what about its flavor as the theme of holding sushi?
The mother squid used in our shop is a living creature that swims around in the tank, so the meat will be particularly hard. When you hold sushi, you can't fit the surface of the rice at all. That kind of squid can only taste the unique sweetness when it is cut into thin strips to make a sashimi, and when it bites down. That's the best thing to eat. Therefore, as long as there is no special request, I will use the squid that fits the surface of the rice perfectly when holding sushi, and make the mother squid into a wine appetizer.
Octopus is in season in winter. However, surprisingly, many people think that it is a theme without the concept of seasonality, so whenever the guests want octopus in the summer, they will show a strange expression when they hear me answer "I'm sorry, it's not supposed to be in season".
In fact, the thin chapter fish in the summer is not delicious. If you want to eat boiled octopus in the summer, it is better to go to the fish shop to buy it. Because it is cooked in season and frozen in the refrigerator.
Shrimp sushi and spear squid sushi
However, if a sushi restaurant wants to make a really delicious octopus grip sushi, it must cook it yourself. At least that's how the master of "Kyobashi" taught me. The cooked octopus tentacles are fat, fragrant and flavorful, but only in mid-November to late March.
I use octopuses from the Miura Peninsula that are less than two kilograms long — only 1.5-1.8 kilograms in Kurihama and miazaki areas — but I'm often asked by guests, "Is this Akashi's?" "The reason why I get such a good review, I have to boast about it, thanks to my kneading method and cooking method.
The most important thing about octopus is the timing of kneading, if you rub it with too fresh octopus meat, somehow there will be a hole in the middle of the tentacles when it is cooked. Therefore, it is very difficult to judge when to pickle and when to cook...
Seven: boils, roe and others
Burrows, clams, sea urchins, salmon roe, herring roe, silver fish.
Sushi's entire tasting menu is a vegetarian staple with a focus on raw food, accompanied by boiled and vinegared items.
The first thing to mention about the boiling thing is the cave, a kind of thing that looks at the name and does not know. It is actually a fish of the eel family, but it is different from the eel in Japanese cuisine. We often say that eels refer to salty and light amphibian eels that spawn in the ocean and migrate their seedlings to grow up in freshwater areas on land, while the burrows are pure moray eels, that is, eels that grow in the sea.
The Chinese scientific name of the cave is "Xingkang Ji Eel", which generally enters the active period during the rainy season, when the bait in the sea is abundant, and the burrows that prey on a large number of prey will become fatter and fatter, and the delicious season lasts until the end of summer.
Star Kang Ji Eel
In addition to April-August, caves in the traditional production areas of Tokyo Bay, the Stag Peninsula and Omomehama in Miyagi Prefecture, Kishiwada in Osaka Bay, Ota in Shimane Prefecture, Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture, Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture, and Busan, South Korea, are also distributed and exported to the Tsukiji Market.
Of course, there are always some exceptions to the ingredients used by Ono Jiro, who only uses caves from Nojima, Hiroshima Prefecture.
Another interesting ingredient is sea urchin, which appeared in the 1960s, followed by canned sea urchins.
Sea urchins are available all year round, the best of which are the Purple Sea Urchin and Horse Dung Sea Urchin between Rishiri and Okujiri Island in Hokkaido, which appear at Tsukiji Market in the summer. Other seasons are dominated by Russian-made sea urchins.
Sea urchins are refrigerated, the room temperature is set at 4 to 7 ° C in the warehouse, the door of the Tsukiji Market is closed in the early morning, but buyers are already inside to see the goods, the cargo compartment is placed in a row of wooden boxes commonly known as bento boxes, and the most conspicuous positions in the front row are the best goods on hand by Hokkaido sea urchin merchants.
Seeing the sea urchin is a very testing thing, although it can be seen, but it is not allowed to taste, some experienced buyers concluded that the sea urchin first looks at the place of origin, and then the appearance, it is said that the surface of the sea urchin should be like the rice that has just come out of the pot to stand up, and the merchant who buys the sea urchin from the place of origin and processes the carton is also the key to selection.
sea urchin
In the experience-oriented world of the Tsukiji Sea Urchin Market, the average daily turnover of sea urchin trading is as high as 37 million yen.
Red salmon roe is a dish made from salt or soy sauce after the salmon ovaries are scattered, and because they can be frozen, they are sold all year round. The salmon roe usually eaten at Japanese restaurants is tender fish roe, and if you miss the season, the skin of the salmon roe will harden, which will resemble a plastic projectile.
Herring roe is also a pickled ingredient and can be bought all year round, but winter is the most timely time and is a symbol of many children and many blessings, so it has become an indispensable ingredient for the New Year's Festival. The mainstream source of Goods in Japan comes from Canada and Alaska in the United States, if you roughly compare, if you pay attention to the taste, you can choose Canadian products, and you can choose Alaskan products for the appearance.
Silverfish are small fish about 5 cm, slender in shape, transparent in color. The Edo period was the breed that ordered the shoguns to pay tribute. It exists in semi-brackish lakes, of which Lake Ogawara, the largest semi-saltwater lake in Aomori Prefecture, accounts for 60% of the national production, but it is not the highest, and it is not the highest in Shimane Prefecture's Shinjira Lake, Ibaraki Prefecture's Kasumiura Prefecture, and Hokkaido's Atsuki.
As long as nojima produces, a piece of sushi can hold the size of 3-4 sushi with the best fat content; raw salmon roe marinated in soy sauce is purchased in large quantities during the peak season and frozen at minus 50 degrees; sea urchins use sweet white sea urchins produced in Hokkaido and Aomori, and the finer the texture, the better;
Tamago yaki is served with shrimp puree and yam, using Okutsu's eggs, and each piece of tamago yaki takes 40 minutes to cook.
The raw sea urchins of the Tsukiji Market are all shipped from the north, and the small meat sea urchins of western Japan will never appear in the market, which is not unpalatable, especially the people of Yamaguchi Prefecture proudly declare that it is "Japan's first sea urchin", but the number of fish is too small to supply Tokyo.
Hokkaido and Tsukiji have been in the sea urchin business for a long time, and although jets are now in use, they were transported by night train until 1969, and when you look at the riverbank in the morning, you can see several porters carrying layer after layer of sea urchin boxes.
Look at the color of this sea urchin
The people who brought the sea urchins were all employees of the old state railway, and I don't know what happened now, but in the past, the retirees of the state-owned railway companies had free passes from all over the country.
At that time, it seemed that it was a day and a night to travel from Hokkaido to Tokyo, and since there was no polystyrene foam incubator at that time, it would destroy the freshness if they were not careful, but despite all their efforts, they sent the sea urchins to Tokyo safely through various efforts, and did not cause any complaints.
I use the hakodate "Tian Li" family's supply, because his sea urchins are grown around the four northern islands, the eggs are amazingly large, according to the labels attached next to the wooden box can be divided into gold, green, blue, indigo four grades, all of which are of the highest quality.
The sea urchins sold in the Tsukiji market, including imported goods, come in dozens of grades. By the way, one day I inquired about the wholesale price of the supplier, the price of a box can range from 300 yen to 15,000 yen, the difference in quality can be described as the difference between cloud and mud, of course, Tian Lijia's sea urchins are "cloud" level.
How can it be counted as a "cloud" level? A sea urchin must be able to take out five pieces of egg meat, when shipping, you must first wash the surface with salt water to open the sea urchin shell, process the egg before shipping, if not skilled people to operate, often let the edge of the egg break.
After removing the broken eggs, they are strictly selected according to size, shape and color, and only a very limited amount of eggs can be rated as "gold" or "green".
Therefore, "gold" can be described as one of the most valuable items in the world, because if it cannot miraculously reach the three conditions of sea urchin delicacy, the dense particles, the expanded meridians that prove its freshness, and the flawless bright yellow, it cannot be stamped with the "golden seal"...
The last thing I want to say is:
In fact, compared to ono Jiro's above comments, or the words of Jiro who are known to more people in the documentary "The God of Sushi", the editor's favorite is that he said to his good friend Shinzo Tomi, recalling his young struggle years, which is very infectious, as follows:
"In March of the 26th year of Showa (1951), I came to Tokyo alone from the countryside carrying a suitcase. Saying that it was a suitcase was just a tattered cardboard box in that era. That's all I have. Losing will only throw away a little bit of stuff, so my heart is very strong, and I am not afraid to fight against anyone. ”
----- Jiro Ono.
If you still can't feel his powerful aura, look at the following picture of Erlang's god when he was young, Xiaobian shot at the book, is he really powerful?
Jiro Ono when he was young
After this discussion, we can finally talk about the story that the editor wants to write the most - the food and drink behind the three craftsmen in front of Edo, because this week we have to write an important manuscript for the Xinhua News Agency client, and if it can't be updated on Thursday, it will be updated next week.
References: Yukiko Fukuji, translated by Lu Lingzhi, "Sushi Hand--The Complete Book of Catches in Tsukiji Market", Nova Press, December 2017.
By Jiro Ono, Kenjiro Kanemoto, Tetsuya Hayotomi, Shoshu Komatsu, translated by Yamei Zhang, "The Technique and Heart of a Giant", Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House, August 2016.
Shinzo Satomi, Photography by Yohei Maruyama and translated by Lu Lingzhi, The God of Sushi, Nova Press, March 2016.