From satiety, to taste, to nutrition
Human beings’ understanding of food
Various customs of region and history are diffused
Blue Ocean
Not only gives life to the planet
For humans
Blue Ocean , it is also a blue granary
that meets the basic needs of life in the era of hunger
brings thousands of flavors in the pursuit of taste
gives more possibilities now that nutrition is paramount
Look at this blue star from among the best seafood in various countries The Big Difference of the Color Planet
Appreciate the regional customs from the unique food culture
World Seafood Map
Continue to pay close attention to the "good products" in the blue granary
Start a journey of seafood with hundreds of flavors
The best seafood in Japan
Island country Japan has a small land area, most of which is mountainous. natural disasters occur frequently, and it has obvious disadvantages in obtaining food.
As the saying goes: You can rely on mountains to eat mountains, and you can rely on water to eat water. Japan, surrounded by the sea, is one of the countries with the richest seafood resources. Seafood has become the main "vegetarian food" of the Japanese, which is also a natural choice. As early as the Jomon period more than 10,000 years ago, Japan had already begun to prey on ocean fish. Data shows that the Japanese eat about 9.6 million tons of fish alone a year.
For a nation that "lives on fish and shrimps until now", top-quality seafood is indispensable. In the first issue of "World Seafood Atlas", let's take a look at the best seafood in Japan.
ONE
The most enviable seafood
Tuna
At 5 o'clock in the morning, the Sapporo Nijo Market in Hokkaido began to be crowded with people, and seafood from all over the world gathered here.
When the crowd is buzzing and the atmosphere reaches a climax, the absolute protagonist of the seafood market is about to appear: tuna with number plates proudly walked onto the auction stage.
How much can tuna be sold for? In China, the more expensive tuna only costs 1,200 yuan per pound.
◎ The record for the highest price in Japanese tuna auction history came from January 5, 2019, when a bluefin tuna weighing 278 kilograms was sold at the Toyosu market in Tokyo for US$3.1 million.
Tuna is a large-scale pelagic food fish, mainly distributed in the Indian Ocean , the central Pacific and the central Atlantic. There are 8 species including albacore , yellowfin tuna, big eye tuna, and bluefin tuna. . Among them, bluefin tuna is the most valuable..
The waters under the jurisdiction of Japan's Aomori Prefecture, Hokkaido , Nagasaki Prefecture, Shimane Prefecture, Shizuoka Prefecture are one of the main living areas for bluefin tuna. As they grow, they will follow the Traveling back and forth from both sides of the Japanese archipelago, chasing squid, mackerel , sardines and other foods.
Tuna keeps swimming throughout its life. Bluefin tuna can reach a speed of more than 75 kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to the speed of destroyer when sailing at high speed. A bluefin tuna that lives to be 15 years old may have traveled 1.6 million kilometers in the ocean. Moreover, bluefin tuna can dive to depths below 1,000 meters for food, and swim for a long time in cold deep sea waters. Bluefin tuna tastes extremely delicious.
Japanese people love to eat tuna, and it can be regarded as a "cool drama" about tuna's counterattack.
◎Before the 19th century, it was difficult to keep seafood fresh when transported inland. Dried fish and salted fish were their main seafood. After drying, tuna was as hard as a rock and difficult to swallow. Therefore, at that time, tuna was classified as the lowest fish and could only be salted and eaten by the poor.
◎ By the 1960s, with the great progress of refrigeration technology and the westernization of Japanese food life, they figured out that tuna tastes best when it is thawed in a refrigerated environment of minus 30 degrees, and the freshness of the sashimi and the mouth-watering The smoothness and overall texture when paired with wasabi and shredded white radish made the Japanese agitated.
◎ Since then, Japanese people have been eating tuna sashimi out of control, and the title of "Sashimi King" has also become famous all over the world.
Today, it can be said that tuna sashimi has become the representative of Japanese sashimi. Being able to eat top-notch tuna is indeed enviable.
However, the sad thing is that as Japanese food has become popular around the world in recent years, tuna has also become a deep-sea fish that countries are competing to catch. As a result, the number of tuna has begun to decrease. Japan’s tuna catch has also been declining year after year. .
TWO
The most delicious seafood
saury
"Both cats and you want to know the taste of saury." Jay Chou The lyrics of " Qilixiang " echoed in my ears. At the barbecue stalls on the roadside, strings of saury were grilled on charcoal fire, and the aroma came to my nostrils.
saury , there is a huge gap between the treatment in China and Japan.
Saury is the only species of jawed needlefish order , family Sauryidae, and genus Saury. Its scientific name Cololabis saira is taken from the local name of this fish species in Japan's Kii Peninsula.
The adult body length of saury is about 25 to 40 centimeters, with a green back and silver belly. There are many dorsal and caudal fins and they all grow in the rear. The overall body is slightly plump and rod-shaped. Although it is small in size, it is a " flying fish " that migrates throughout the entire North Pacific. Only in autumn every year, due to the need for spawning, does the saury migrate along the tide to the coast of Japan, and then crosses Kinki, Heading south to Kyushu.
There are currently four species of saury in the world, mainly distributed in three oceans, namely Pacific saury, mainly distributed in the eastern Pacific and waters near Hawaii; North Atlantic saury, distributed in the northern Atlantic and Mediterranean areas; Western Ocean saury Knifefish and Indian Ocean saury are mainly distributed in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Pacific saury is the main economic fish caught at sea in neighboring countries such as Japan, South Korea and Russia.
Saury is a relatively cheap seafood in my country's chilled market. A piece of chilled saury only costs more than 10 yuan, but now in Japan, it has become a luxury item on the dining table.
In the ancient feudal period of Japan, people did not know how to eat saury. Saury was regarded as the lowest and least valuable fish species. It was usually used as bait fish for breeding and feeding. Only the poor and the poorest people ate it. The servants at the bottom will eat it.
It was not until the late Edo period that saury was accepted, studied, and developed in various ways. Various cooking methods such as grilled, kabayaki, fried, sushi, and sashimi were developed. In the 1980s, saury became completely popular in Japan, and it can even be said that everyone loves to eat it.
Even the famous Japanese writer Haruo Sato also praised saury in his poems: "Saury, saury, eating saury dripping with orange juice is a custom in this person's hometown."
So, , the Japanese began to fish for saury crazily. From 1997 to 2020, the total weight of saury caught in Japan was 3.385 million tons. The largest catch was 350,000 tons in 2008, and the lowest catch was 25,000 tons in 2020.
Such crazy fishing is a disaster for saury, and the waters around Japan have almost reached the point where there are no fish to catch. Things are rare and valuable, and "people's fish" that everyone loves to eat and can afford has naturally become a treasure that only wealthy families can afford. In the seafood market in Hokkaido, the price of a normal-sized saury has exceeded 100 yuan.
In August 2020, Japan's " Asahi Shimbun " published an editorial about saury, titled "Saury catches have dropped sharply, and the fishing restriction framework needs to continue to be strengthened." In other words, Japan is tightening control The catch volume and price of saury will also continue to rise.
THREE
The most mouth-watering seafood
Matsuba crab
Located in Hokkaido, the northernmost tip of Japan, it is surrounded by freezing seawater. In order to resist the low temperature, the fish living in the surrounding seas accumulate a large amount of fat in their bodies. In winter, the drift ice drifting from the Sea of Okhotsk contains rich nutrients, causing a surge in plankton. These nutrients make Hokkaido's fisheries both delicious and nutritious.
Everyone is already very familiar with king crab, sea urchin, squid, scallops and oysters from Hokkaido.
Today we will talk about the most mouth-watering seafood in Japan - Matsuba crab.
Matsuba crab, also known as North Pacific snow crab, is the oldest edible crab in Hokkaido. It is a kind of snow crab native to Russia and the waters surrounding Japan. It is a large crab that lives in the deep sea. Winter is its breeding season, and the crab roe and crab paste during this period are extremely delicious. Therefore, Matsuba crab is also known as the "King of Winter Taste" and "The Poetry of Winter in the Sea of Japan."
The divine and delicious Matsuba crab, which can only be tasted in the cold winter, is a rare ingredient that every cook desires. The Matsuba crab is as big as a washbasin, and its shell is as big as the mouth of a bowl. The body color is dark red and turns red when heated.
This "Queen of Crabs" has slender legs, and her crab legs are 60 to 80cm long. Its meat is the sweetest and most elastic among many crab species. Japanese people’s favorite way to eat is sashimi, which can best express its delicious taste. It is also often paired with wild vegetables and kelp to make Japanese hot pot.
The top one among the Matsuba crabs is undoubtedly the "Five-Glowing Star" Matsuba crab.
To be rated as a five-star, it must meet at least five criteria: The carapace is at least 13.5 cm; the weight is at least 1.2 kg; the crab legs are complete and beautifully arranged; the color is bright and shiny; the crab meat is firm and plump.
The "Five Star" Matsuba crab was once auctioned for 2 million yen (approximately RMB 122,000).
In Japan, Matsuba crab sashimi is the most popular way to eat, and charcoal-grilled crab legs and crab leg tempura are also common ways to eat.
Preview for the next issue
Like Japan, there are many countries with rich seafood resources. The next issue of "World Seafood Atlas" will visit New Zealand , which is known as the "Land of White Clouds", to see what is available in the pure waters of the southern hemisphere. Precious seafood sought after by the world.
