Seafood ── Fish
Mekajiki
swordfish — a lean, steak-like fish landed on Japan's Sanriku coast
A large fish with a sword-like snout, cut into thick steak-like fillets and glazed teriyaki-style or fried. Ports facing the Sanriku fishing grounds, worked by coastal longline, land the most and rank among Japan's top sources.
- White fish
What it's made of
A large fish with a sword-like snout, its flesh carrying more of the thickness and bite of meat than typical fish. Cut into thick steak-like fillets, it's lean but substantial, holding its own whether glazed teriyaki-style or fried. Almost boneless, its flesh is also easy to portion, adding to its everyday appeal.
How it's made
It's taken carefully, fish by fish, on coastal longline. Its bulk is standardly cut into thick steak blocks, and because the flesh resists drying out under heat, it's favored for teriyaki and frying — preparations built around oil or a sweet-savory glaze. Pan-searing it Western-style with butter and garlic has also caught on widely.
Why it took this shape
The Sanriku fishing grounds are counted among the world's three great fisheries, and ports facing them, like Kesennuma, built their landings mainly around coastal longline fishing. The same port is equally known for bonito, and in winter mekajiki and oysters are spoken of together as its 'two great foods'. The richness of the tidal convergence off Sanriku is said to be the foundation of that fishery.
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: Miyagi, Kesennuma
Facing the rich Sanriku fishing grounds, this port is known for landing among Japan's most swordfish, mainly by coastal longline.