お造り Otsukuri (Sliced Raw Fish)

* ワカナ造り　Wakana tsukuri Young yellowtail After gutting/filleting small fish (horse mackerels) frantically for a couple of months, I was ready for a challenge, i.e., a bigger fish. So I went for it. ;) One funny thing in Japan is that some fish are given different names as they grow up. Yellowtail is one of the teasers. It is given 4 or 5 different names and the regional differences in the use of the names make things even more complicated. Gee, how could fishermen and sushi chefs handle that? This one was labeled as “Wakana” at the supermarket so I used the name here, but it may not be correct… Most websites I consulted said that wakana refers to young yellowtail around 20 cm or smaller, while the fish I bought was definitely bigger. This is my sashimi bocho 刺身包丁(fish slicer). And I have to admit this: the close-up of the flesh of the fish looks much better than the vegetables I cut. Hence, this small photo of the garnish. I guess those who are familiar with traditional sashimi garnish would laugh at my work if they had a close look at the veggies I cut. To tell you the truth, this was the only yori-ninjin (twisted carrot strip?) that curled up properly. :P Categories: Japanese