Rice dishes ── Sushi toppings
Otoro
the fattiest cut of tuna belly, once dismissed and now the most prized
The fattiest cut from a tuna's belly. Once dismissed as spoiling too fast even for a cat to bother with, it's said to have become, with better freezing and changing tastes, the most prized cut of all today — one that calls for its own particular way of being sliced.
Lineage
What it's made of
Otoro is the fattiest cut from a tuna's belly. White fat runs in layers along the grain, and it melts almost the moment it hits the tongue, spreading sweetness. Little of the iron-like character of lean tuna comes through — this is a cut built entirely around the weight of its fat. Its cut face carries a pale pink blush and is said to catch the light almost like marbled beef.
How it's made
When a tuna is broken down, the section of belly with the heaviest marbling is identified and cut out. Because the high fat content makes the flesh soft and prone to falling apart, it's said to call for a thinner, more careful blade than leaner cuts. Some shops lightly sear it to melt the fat before serving, and letting it approach room temperature first is said to help the fat's aroma come through.
Why it took this shape
Before refrigeration, the fattiest cuts spoiled fastest and turned fishy quickest, and are said to have been scorned as 'neko-matagi' — food a cat wouldn't even bother stepping over for. Only after postwar freezer technology advanced, alongside a diet that grew to favor richer fat, did otoro reportedly flip into the most prized cut on the counter from the 1960s on, today often fetching a higher price than either chutoro or akami.
Before you go
- How to use a convenience storeA quick guide to choosing rice balls and hot snacks, buying coffee, paying by cash, IC card, or tap payment, using the eat-in corner, and sorting your trash — the basics for a first visit.
- Station food and ekiben (station bento)Where and when to find ekiben (station bento) before it sells out, etiquette for eating on board, how standing soba and udon stalls work, and where to find souvenirs sold inside the station.
- Soraben and airport diningA guide to what soraben means and how it differs from ekiben, whether to buy before or after security, etiquette for eating on board, airport restaurants, and things to check before buying food souvenirs to take home.
Dishes in the same style
- AkagaiA clam named for its red flesh, colored by blood that carries an iron-based pigment rather than the copper most mollusks use. Prized for its crisp bite, it's a premium topping often substituted commercially with the smaller ark shell relative sarubō-gai, and freshness shapes the work more than almost anything else.
- Akami no ZukeLean tuna cured in a soy-based marinade. Born as a way to keep the fish from spoiling before refrigeration existed, it's said to survive today as its own deliberate preparation even now that fattier cuts get the attention — one of the founding techniques of Edomae sushi itself.