Tuna Sushi

Tuna is the most basic Edo style sushi. It is one of the oldest ingredients used, and often regarded as the icon of sushi.

The tuna has a simple, but robust taste. It has almost no fat, and has a firm flesh. The blue fin tuna or honmaguro (true tuna), nicknamed the “black diamond” (for its shiny cobalt skin), is considered the best match for Edo style sushi, and is appreciated much more than the yellow fin or ahi tuna. The yellow fin lives in the warm currents and its flesh is bland, due to high water content, and soft compared to the blue fin which lives in the cold currents. The yellow fin tuna has little or no fatty section as well. This is a characteristic of fish that dwell in warm waters. The blue fin tuna has a firm flesh, the best tuna belly section, and has a deeper red color compared to the bright ruby tone of the yellow tail.

Tuna is best to eat it in its most simplest form. Wasabi, and soy sauce is the best match. No special touches are required. It is usually ordered after the lighter white fishes, and before the richer ingredients such as Spanish mackerel, tuna belly, sea urchin, and salmon roe. The old zuke method, where the sliced sashimi is soaked in soy sauce for a short period of time, is a popular choice. This was done in the old days to prevent the tuna from spoiling too quickly, but it concentrates the flavors in the tuna flesh due to water loss by osmosis. Tuna is also popular for the tekka maki (flaming steel roll), the most basic Edo Style roll.

Maguro Sushi