Fish Dinner Night

Pretty Colorful, isn't it? Wondering what this is? Maybe some of you figured out that this is chirashi zushi (uncaked sushi), but not sure what’s on top, right? Those fish-meat like chunks are vinegared gizzard shad. Many of you probably have had sushi more often than I did, and might have heard the name kohada. That’s what it is. Kohada is often vinegared and I’ve heard a lot about it, but this was the first time that I made vinegared kohada myself. And this boiled fish is what we call chinu (black sea bream). I had a hard time taking a shot trying to hide the ugly parts as much as possible, because the skin came off here and there... :( Very simple sweet and salty seasoning with sugar, soy sauce, sake, mirin and a few slices of ginger root. There’s a very good reason why these fish are not very photogenic. I gutted and filleted them myself. I know, I know. I live “in a rural town with abundant seafood from the Pacific ocean” and I’m originally from a coastal town known for fishing. So you think I’m supposed to be good at such preparations? Wrong. I can manage, but it’s a real clumsy work which is a typical “daimyo oroshi” (filleting work that a feudal lord would do, leaving lots of the flesh of the fish on the middle bone). This expression is used among (elder?) professional cooks probably because feudal lords in the past were those who were least likely to gut and fillet fish, and least stingy about the flesh left on the bone.　(*Sorry, I just found that daimyo oroshi was the name of a legitimate filleting method. It doesn't really mean "shitty work." ) Why did I go through all those troubles this time? Let me tell you, dear readers. These fish were special. They were not from the supermarket. They were straight from a local river, and I witnessed all the catching process! Oh, about the dishes above, vinegared gizzard shad was OK, and black sea bream was excellent, though it was small. (* I used instant mix for making the sushi part. Of course! How can I manage gutting/filleting fish AND making sushi from scratch! No way. ;P ) My kitchen is filled with the smell of fish right now. I’m not totally happy with it, but I have to admit that it makes me feel somewhat nostalgic. After all, that’s something I was very familiar with in my childhood. * And here is the story of how I got these fish.