Raw
Tobiuo no Sashimi
Tobiuo no sashimi — sliced raw flying fish
Flying fish, Shimane's designated prefectural fish, is sliced raw while still fresh to mark the arrival of early summer. Its lean, muscular flesh is prized for a light, refined flavor and is sometimes served as a whole platter with the head attached.
- Origin: Shimane
- About 610 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Tobiuo no sashimi is fresh flying fish, known locally as "ago," sliced for sashimi along Shimane's coast. The flesh is muscular and lean, with a mild but refined flavor, and because the fish is so striking to look at, it is sometimes prepared as a full sashimi platter with the head left on for presentation. Flying fish gather along Shimane's coast in large numbers to spawn from June through August, and this is when they carry the most fat and flavor.
How it's made
When preparing fresh flying fish for sashimi, it is considered important to carefully remove the long gills, fins, and scales beforehand. Its mild flavor also suits grilling, and because the flesh yields a good broth, it is used as a stock ingredient much like dried sardines. It also works well in soups, ground into fish balls for tsumire-jiru, and it is further processed into a fish cake called "ago yaki" that is grilled into a chikuwa-like shape.
Why it took this shape
Shimane's flying fish catch consists of two species, hosotobiuo and tsukushitobiuo, with the season running from May to August. A distinctive fishing method called "ago sukui" is practiced at night, using bright lights or torches on board to draw the fish toward the boat before scooping them up in large nets, a technique said to land several hundred fish in a single night. Watching the fish leap clear of the water, locals are said to have long associated it with a sense of forward momentum.
Dishes in the same style
- Akagarei no KomaburiRoe-bearing red flounder is sliced into sashimi and tossed with its own boiled, crumbled eggs, a dish from around the Amijiro area of Iwami Town. Said to have descended from a similar dish made with crucian carp roe, it pairs rich eggs with mild, fatty winter flounder for festivals and New Year's.
- Amagi no KawatakeA rare wild freshwater algae, found only in the Kogane River in Asakura, is dressed with sweet or three-flavor vinegar — said to have once been presented to the shogun, and now conservation efforts continue as it's listed as endangered.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Shimane
- Agonoko UmaniThe roe of egg-bearing flying fish, caught only in early summer, is simmered in stock and soy sauce as an Oki bar snack. Its large grains and dense, sticky texture are prized as a delicacy said to be scarcer even than the fish's flesh.
- Akagai Garan MushiArk shell clams from Lake Nakaumi are steamed in their shells in a soy-seasoned broth, also known as akagai no kara-mushi. The name 'garan' is said to come either from a slurred 'kara' (shell) or the rattling sound made while rinsing the shells — a dish long kept for New Year's.
- Azuki ZoniRound mochi sit in azuki beans simmered with a light hand on the sugar, closer in taste to a thin zenzai than a dessert. In the Izumo area some households eat a clear zoni on New Year's Day, then switch to this one from the second.
- Bakudan OnigiriA large round rice ball is wrapped entirely in lightly toasted, soy-brushed rock nori from Oki — its bold look earning it the name 'bakudan,' or bomb. It travels well in lunch boxes and as an everyday snack.
- Dojo Kenchin JiruLoach is simmered with burdock, daikon, and shiitake in a clear soy broth in Yasugi, said to embody the old saying that one loach is worth one eel for stamina — traditionally eaten after washing the mud off from rice planting.