Seafood ── Fish
Kinki
broadbanded thornyhead — a rich, deep-red fish from northern deep waters
A deep-red fish from the cold, deep waters of the north, exceptionally fatty and richly flavored when simmered. Living hundreds of meters down, it is caught in only limited numbers, and just a few ports with grounds that deep land it reliably.
- White fish
What it's made of
A deep-red fish from the cold depths of the northern sea, with a surprising amount of fat in both flesh and skin. Simmered, that fat melts into a rich, glossy broth, and chopsticks sink straight through the tender flesh. Far from plain, its concentrated richness is the whole point. Even dried, it keeps most of its fat, and grilling makes it ooze back out.
How it's made
Living hundreds of meters down in cold water, it's caught carefully by gillnet or longline. Numbers are small and catches limited, so simmering each fish with care is the norm, making the most of its fat to draw a deep stock from the bones as well. The sweet-savory simmering liquid itself takes on that fat, turning rich and heavy.
Why it took this shape
Preferring cold, deep water, it can only be landed reliably by ports with grounds reaching hundreds of meters down, or so it's said. Rausu, facing the waters off Shiretoko, is one of the few places that fits, and the limited catch is exactly what has made it a premium fish. A seabed where cold currents plunge deep is said to be what raises this fish.
Before You Go
- How to shop at a supermarketHow to choose prepared foods, sashimi, and packaged sushi, when discount stickers tend to appear, region-only specialties, buying by weight, the checkout and bagging flow, and sampling etiquette at a local supermarket.
- Roadside stations, direct-sale stands, and marketsHow to enjoy buying food near where it's produced, visiting and shopping at morning markets and fish markets, what to expect at farm stands, and finding local food at roadside stations (michi-no-eki).
- Foods to look for in springA guide to foods often seen in Japan around spring — early bonito, bamboo shoots, sakura mochi, hanami bento, new-season tea, and butterbur sprouts — with rough pointers for finding them.
Dishes in the same style
- AinameA white-fleshed fish of rocky shores, served raw or simmered in old Edomae style. Sedentary by nature, it varies by region, and in some Tohoku ports its liver is eaten too — a fish long prized as a local catch.
- AmadaiA pink-skinned fish with a subtle sweetness, known in Kyoto as 'guji'. Fish caught in Wakasa Bay were lightly salted and carried inland along the old Saba Kaido route, a history that made lightly-salted Wakasa amadai prized in Kyoto cuisine.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Known for it here
- Known for it here: Hokkaido, Rausu
Grounds several hundred meters deep off Shiretoko yield this premium fish, taken by gillnet and longline.