Name: Saury Nigiri Sushi
Cuisine: 和食
Ingredients: 1 Pacific saury (495 yen incl. tax)

About "Saury Nigiri Sushi"

A professional sushi chef explains the detailed process of making nigiri sushi using Pacific saury, a classic autumn delicacy. This guide covers every step to create beautiful and delicious sushi, including selecting fresh and fatty fish, the specialized Daimyo-oroshi filleting technique, deboning hacks, odor removal in ice-cold saltwater, and finishing with decorative cuts. It also reveals how to get 5 pieces of sushi from a single saury and the reasoning behind pricing them from a cost of 99 yen to a retail price of 297 yen.

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Tips for Making "Saury Nigiri Sushi"

Selecting Fish
- Choose saury with a yellowish beak tip and tail base, a plump, rounded back, and a thick body for the best fat content.
Choosing Tools
- A knife with a thin, long blade, like a slicer (sujihiki) knife, is better suited for filleting saury than a heavy deba knife.
Prep Work
- Lightly score the bloodline membrane and clean it with your finger before rinsing. Thoroughly wiping off all moisture is crucial.
Filleting
- For Daimyo-oroshi, keep the knife tip angled slightly down and slide it with fine up-and-down motions. When deboning, flip the fillet end-for-end halfway through and pull straight up.
Odor Removal
- Soak in ice-cold saltwater (30g salt per 1L water) for 5 minutes to draw out odors via osmosis. If not using immediately, rest uncovered in the fridge for 30 minutes to lightly age.
Decorative Cuts
- Two styles: fine, deep, repeated cuts, or a single deep center cut. The key is to make beautifully even, spaced cuts.
Skinning
- Peel a bit of skin from the head end, press the skin against the board with a flat knife, and slide the flesh away to keep the silver skin intact.
Parasite Control
- Refrigerating the filleted fish for 30 minutes helps bring any Anisakis to the surface. Use a UV blacklight to inspect if concerned.
Portioning
- The tail side is tough, so using the section from the head to the belly for 2 pieces per fillet is best. Adjust the shape based on thickness and toughness.
Shaping Sushi
- Gently shape the fatty saury without squeezing too hard to prevent the skin from peeling. Garnish with grated daikon to balance the fishiness.
Cost & Pricing
- Yielding 5 pieces from a 495-yen fish results in a cost of 99 yen per piece. The selling price is set at 297 yen per piece.

Ingredients for "Saury Nigiri Sushi"

1 items

* Tap ingredient names to find on Amazon

1Pacific saury (495 yen incl. tax)

How to Make "Saury Nigiri Sushi"

1
Select a high-quality saury. Choose one with a yellowish beak tip and tail base, a plump, rounded back, and a thick body.
2
Prepare a knife with a thin, long blade, such as a slicer (sujihiki) knife.
3
Assess freshness by checking the firmness of the skin, and remove any remaining scales if necessary.
4
Cut off the head from the side of the collar, then insert the knife in reverse from the vent to open the belly.
5
Scrape out the viscera with the knife, and lightly score the membrane over the bloodline with the tip of the blade.
6
Clean out the bloodline with your fingertips, then rinse the fish in water.
7
Thoroughly wipe off all moisture from the saury using paper towels.
8
Cut off the small fins on the belly side using kitchen shears.
9
Cut slightly into the belly side to create a guideline, then perform Daimyo-oroshi (straight filleting) along the backbone. Keep the tip of the knife angled slightly downward and slide it while moving the blade finely up and down.
10
Shave off the belly bones using the entire length of the knife blade.
11
Debone the fish. Once you have pulled out the bones up to the middle, flip the fillet end-for-end and pull the remaining bones straight up.
12
Soak the fillets in ice-cold saltwater (3% salt dissolved in water with ice added) for about 5 minutes.
13
Drain in a strainer and thoroughly wipe away any excess moisture with paper towels.
14
If not using immediately, wrap in prep paper to store, or let it rest uncovered in the refrigerator for 30 minutes for a light aging process.
15
Remove from the refrigerator and slice into sushi toppings (neta). Cut off the tail end where the connective tissue is tough.
16
Make decorative cuts. Choose either making fine, deep, repeated cuts, or the classic style of making a single deep cut down the center.
17
To skin the fish, peel a bit of skin from the head end, press the skin against the cutting board with the knife held flat, and slide the flesh away.
18
Moisten your hands with vinegared water (tezu), take a portion of sushi rice (shari), and apply a dab of wasabi.
19
Gently shape the sushi, wrapping the saury topping over the rice. Do not squeeze too hard, as the fish is very fatty.
20
Garnish with grated daikon radish or other condiments to finish.

Food Science

Why This Dish Tastes So Good

Soaking the fish in ice-cold saltwater draws out excess moisture through osmotic pressure, firming up the flesh and suppressing fishy odors. Additionally, resting the fish in the refrigerator allows enzymatic reactions to promote aging, which increases umami compounds. Finally, combining the acidity and sweetness of the sushi rice with the rich fat and umami of the saury, along with the heat of the wasabi, creates a perfectly balanced and deep flavor profile across the five basic tastes.

Moisture ControlEnzymatic ReactionsFlavor Balance

Detailed Commentary on "Saury Nigiri Sushi"

* Content organized by topics from the video.

Selecting Saury and the Best Knife

To make delicious saury sushi, it is crucial to select fish based on freshness and fat content. Fresh saury has a yellowish tint at the tip of its beak and the base of its tail. A plump, rounded back and a thick body indicate that the fish is rich in fat. Next is choosing the right knife. When filleting saury, we use a technique called Daimyo-oroshi (straight filleting) rather than the standard Sanmai-oroshi (three-piece filleting). A knife with a thin blade and a slender handle is best suited for this technique. For example, a slicer (sujihiki) knife with a long, thin blade is ideal. Conversely, a thick and heavy deba knife is difficult to maneuver and not suited for Daimyo-oroshi. Paying attention to your tools will significantly improve the beauty of the final presentation.

Thorough Prep and Moisture Removal

Before filleting, first remove the scales. Since saury are often caught in large batches using set nets, their scales frequently rub off by the time they reach the market. Therefore, judge freshness by the firmness of the skin rather than the presence of scales. Next, cut off the head from the side of the collar, and insert the knife in reverse from the vent to open the belly. Scrape out the viscera with the knife, then lightly score the membrane over the bloodline with the tip of the blade. Running your finger along the bloodline to clean it beforehand makes the subsequent rinsing much easier. After rinsing, it is extremely important to thoroughly wipe off all moisture with paper towels. Any remaining moisture will not only spoil the flesh faster but also cause the knife to slip, making filleting very difficult.

Daimyo-oroshi and Clean Deboning

Once the prep is done, cut off the small fins on the belly side with kitchen shears, as they can get in the way of a clean cut. Slice slightly into the belly side to create a guideline, then perform Daimyo-oroshi along the backbone. The trick is to keep the tip of the knife angled slightly downward and slide it while moving the blade finely up and down. The backbone is sturdy, so you do not need to worry about it breaking even if you apply some pressure. After filleting, shave off the belly bones using the entire length of the knife blade. Next is the challenging part: deboning. Saury has a dense cluster of thin, long bones. A professional trick to remove them without tearing the flesh is to pull the bones out up to the middle, then flip the fillet end-for-end. From there, pull the bones straight up so the flesh does not tear away with the bones, keeping the fillet perfectly intact.

Saltwater Odor Removal and Light Aging

To remove the characteristic fishy odor of blue-backed fish, soak the fillets in ice-cold saltwater. Dissolve 3% salt in water (30 grams of salt per liter of water) and add ice to make a cold brine. Soak the saury in this for about 5 minutes. Through osmotic pressure, the odor-causing compounds inside the flesh are efficiently drawn out. After 5 minutes, drain in a strainer and thoroughly wipe off any excess moisture with paper towels. The brownish residue left on the paper towel is the source of the odor. If not using immediately, wrap them in prep paper to store. Even if you plan to make sushi right away, letting them rest uncovered in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes is highly recommended. The cold air alters the proteins in the muscle and stabilizes the moisture, achieving a light aging effect that gives the surface of the flesh a smooth, beautiful sheen.

Decorative Cuts and Skinning Techniques

Remove the saury from the refrigerator and slice it into sushi toppings (neta). Cut off the tail end beforehand, as it has tough connective tissue. To improve the appearance of the sushi and ensure a smooth texture, apply decorative cuts. The first method involves making fine, deep, repeated cuts. This also serves as bone-softening (honekiri), cutting through any remaining tiny bones. The key is to make beautiful, evenly spaced cuts so that heat penetrates evenly if seared. The second method is the classic style of making a single deep cut down the center. For fillets where the bones have been removed with a knife, finish by skinning. Peel a bit of skin from the head end, press the skin against the cutting board with the knife held flat, and slide the flesh away. This peels the skin cleanly while leaving the beautiful silver skin layer intact.

Anisakis Prevention and Portioning

When handling raw fish, the presence of Anisakis parasites is always a concern. As a professional rule of thumb, I have never found Anisakis migrated into the flesh of fresh saury sourced from the market, but taking precautions is essential. Filleting the fish via Daimyo-oroshi and storing it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes is said to make it easier for Anisakis to surface. If you are still concerned, using a dedicated UV blacklight to inspect the fillets is the most reliable method. Additionally, while we cut three pieces of sushi topping from a single fillet this time, the tail side is quite tough. For serving customers, it is best to use the section from the head to the belly, yielding two pieces per fillet. Adjust the shaping of the sushi by considering the thickness and toughness of each section.

Finished Sushi, Cost, and Pricing

Once everything is ready, it is finally time to shape the sushi. Moisten your hands with tezu (vinegared water), take a portion of shari (sushi rice), apply a dab of wasabi, and gently wrap the saury topping over the rice. Since saury is very fatty, be careful not to squeeze too hard, or the skin may peel off. We shape three types: one with fine decorative cuts, one with a single center cut, and one skinned tail-side piece. Garnish with a well-matching condiment like grated daikon radish to eliminate any fishiness and highlight the umami. Finally, let's look at the cost and selling price. The saury used this time was purchased for 495 yen (including tax) per fish. Calculating that one fish yields 5 pieces of sushi, the cost per piece is 99 yen. Adding the restaurant's profit margin, the selling price is set at 297 yen (including tax) per piece. It is a wonderful way to enjoy this autumn delicacy at a reasonable price.

About 蒼の鮨 sushi-chef ao

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