Seafood ── Fish
Madara
Pacific cod — a winter fish whose name means 'plenty'
A winter fish said to give Japanese the phrase 'eat one's fill'. Its mild flesh goes into hot pots, and it yields both shirako milt and the roe for tarako — cold-strait ports developed kombu-curing to draw out flavor from its plain flesh.
- White fish
Lineage
What it's made of
A winter fish so voracious it's said to give Japanese the phrase 'eat one's fill'. Cooked, the flesh turns snow-white and flakes apart mildly, while its milt, shirako, is prized for a rich, custard-like taste, and its roe is processed separately into tarako — plain flesh that comes alive once it takes on kelp's umami, or soaks up broth as the centerpiece of a hot pot. It peaks in winter as the water cools.
How it's made
Watery, soft flesh falls apart easily in a hot pot, but pressed between sheets of kombu overnight it loses excess moisture and concentrates in flavor. Milt and roe are handled separately from the flesh, and using all three from one fish is the standard approach. Since even the bones give up flavor, some dishes simmer the whole carcass, ara-daki style, to use them too.
Why it took this shape
Facing the Tsugaru Strait, Hakodate has long paired cod taken from its cold waters with hot-pot dishes and kombu-curing. Balancing the fish's cold, plain flesh with kelp's umami is thought to be tied to the region's access to good kombu nearby — a dish born from pairing the sea with a preservation craft. The strait's cold water itself is said to be what shapes the fish's mild flesh in the first place.
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, Hakodate
Facing the Tsugaru Strait, this city has long paired its cod fishery with kombu-curing and hot-pot traditions dating to the Edo period.
Uses
- TarachiriCod fillets simmered with tofu and vegetables in kombu dashi or hot water and eaten with ponzu or soy sauce. 'Chiri' is said to refer to how fish flesh curls when put in hot water.
- Tachi no Miso ShiruWhole cod or walleye pollock milt goes into kelp dashi and is finished with miso. In Hokkaido milt is called tachi, with Pacific cod's distinguished as "ma-dachi" — a winter home-cooking staple.
- Sampei JiruSalted salmon, cod, or herring simmers with daikon and potato, seasoned by the fish's own salt alone. One story behind the name traces it to a Matsumae domain lord who took a liking to a fisherman's simple soup.
- Bodara-niBodara, cod dried bone-hard, is soaked in water for about a week and simmered over several days in soy sauce and sugar until even the bones soften — a New Year dish of Aizuwakamatsu. In an inland city where fresh seafood rarely arrived, it is said to have been valued as a source of protein.