Welcome to FISH FOOD TIMES
Dec. 2015 issue No.144
Skewers of abacus ball
This time I want to pick up a very intense fish difference of praise or censure. It is also a fish that evaluation of the fish body and fish eggs are handled by the difference of about heaven and earth.
The fish Bora. Name in accordance with the increase as yellowtail, Oboko, Subashiri, it is not, Bora, Todo, and will change "fish called by different names at different stages of its growth." It is called is a Todo magnitude that does not any more big, this is the etymology of the more commonly used "todo no tumari (in the end)." In addition, still small parr stage "Oboko" It is also said that the etymology of "Obokoi" to represent the young state.
Mullet is fishing from the old days on the coast of Japan around the south of Hokkaido, it can swim upstream to the river of freshwater, also enters the harbor of urban areas. So, a large fish of the opportunity to see well even on ordinary people not the angler of the bridge, is a familiar fish as one of the white meat fish from the old days.
Mullet is Mullet second, Mullet family, Mullet genus, belongs to, season is around December to January of winter. And, people who fish know that there are like this Mullet and easily under image that resembles about very can not distinguish between is as small.
This fish is a Redlip mullet belonging Mullet second, Mullet family, Liza genus, to. Fish name is called rest, Shukuchi, snook, and Hikuchi by the local. Overall reddish appearance be in the "red mouth" as the name suggests is a feature. Season it is around the time of the spring and summer, a conservative is fat content than the Mullet, without any fishy smell, white meat of elegant taste, are traded as high-grade fish that are not in Mullet and incomparable.
Redlip mullet will have mixed in a ratio of about one fish in the 100 fish when you catch the Mullet, the scarcity is as has also become a reason to be traded at a high price. On the contrary, Mullet you are the spitting image of figure Redlip mullet, yet anywhere in the country without exception evaluation is low though it is the same kind of white meat. If it is even in the state of pre-rigor active, it is not uncommon that are traded at a lower price, such as said that the outrageous giveaway price.
Factors that white meat Mullet was diminished to the masses fish below the low level of fish, such as blue fish in this way, it considered to have come from the strength of the life force as one of them.
Because Mullet is able to inhabit adaptation force is also strongly in the port of badly dirty rivers and muddy seawater, and eat fished Mullet who grew up in such a poor environment, it is a strong smelling of mud. From the fact that people who have this kind of experience was loudly disparages that of Mullet, is of such that it has become a common belief.
Still in the high-growth period of the infrastructure have not been in the post-war Japan that well-equipped sewage sludge purification equipment, with obviously dirty polluted rivers and harbor waters, if you look at the Mullet that jumping to show the white belly from the top and the quay of the bridge, it only in Mullet of the image it should have decreased. From such a thing, who thought inevitably as "such a dirty fish that live in the water should not be eat ..." It is believed that would be large.
Certainly such past of one point, the probability of hitting the strong mullet of the fishy smell could have been very high. But earlier, because there is a Keihin-Keiyo industrial area in the Gulf, Tokyo Bay and was notorious in that sea of pollution is terrible, black dirt have been rivers, purification environment of sewage sludge in the many current flowing to it is it was well-equipped. And now Tokyo Bay has become a good fishing ground, called up to the treasure house of coastal fish.
This is not just that Tokyo Bay, and by national rivers and the Gulf is the old days it was a beautiful river and sea are purification much not be compared, potential hits unrefined mullet is much lower and earlier as compared than is it has become.
But mullet have not been able to dispel the simple image of "unrefined fish" that has been planted in that time. And mullet even now is the shipment form of "neck breaking" as the bottom of the image has become a thing of the ordinary.
Generally to the broken neck fishing mackerel that was caught in waters, but he is most of the object of the present invention is to appeal to the goodness of freshness by folding the neck to show the red color of gills, another in the case of mullet there is a very important objective.
It by making to pull out the blood from the portion of the neck broken, is the thing that mitigate the fishy smell and funk. If you put out the blood from mullet doing this, even the funk in mullet was caught at some bad environment is quite relaxed. Once upon a time is a commonplace to be like this when you ship the mullet, is of the process is continuing even now.
In addition to this, mullet, especially the timing of the late fall and winter, are often shipped by cutting the belly. The reason for this is obvious, it is due to ship by removing in advance only fish eggs of the female mullet from the belly, and he only males of is not cut belly. In order to get the containing female mullet fish eggs, you can rely on, such as a person of the responsible position of the fish market, is becoming a necessary means to ask specially to fishermen.
The following mullet image that has not been cut belly, fisheries responsible for the company that I have been teaching gave me specially purchased at the fish market, is a mullet that male and female is in 2 fish each in 1 case.
This is an image of a combination of male and female by one fish. Do you know how readers are is which of the male and female?
As an example of very easy to understand male and female differences of fish is a dorado in first. And though much will be old, in FISH FOOD TIMES №30 of the June 2006 issue, and is described in the image in the "dorado cheese scissors fillets". In addition, such as well-known curved nose shape of the male salmon is also easy to judges differences in male and female.
However, in the case of mullet, if you are asked to be or can be determined by looking at the image above, I can not answer only can not be very determined. According to the answers of Yahoo Answers, has become a "male has pointed elongated tip chest fin than females, because there are a pair of ridgeline on dorsal fin base left and right, the distinction between male and female is easy." I also tried to check on the basis of the knowledge, but I was not able to determine the author's insight unfortunately.
In another way, "If you press the belly is a male that white liquid comes out, the female leaves a yellow liquid", but seems there is also a method that, this was not done.
In fact at the store who purchase the mullet, because male and female by way to put a cut of the knife only a little has been confirmed in the anus, already is he the difference in male and female knew, their differences without taking a cut of the knife by the way I am wanted to know to tell from appearance.
While I was dragged think of and want to know "whether the fisherman is recognizable instantly in any way", and eventually cut big abdominal with a kitchen knife, it was taken out of the roe and milt.
Even though the season that still late October, had been this way contains a worthy roe and milt.
Milt's the thing is that delicious grilled, but I was to be discarded with the internal organs because it is not intrigued the special appetite to milt. However, even in its internal organs, only this of the following image was to be treated importantly do not throw away.
Do you know something readers this is? This is an organ called the pylorus the thick muscles developed which is referred to as "abacus ball of mullet " or "the navel of mullet ". It is like a gizzard of chicken, mullet is to adapt the bait to food habits to eat every sand mud, it is the organ to successfully digest the food mingled with sand and mud.
Mullet is bottom to piled up detritus (biological bodies and substances of biological origin debris and microorganisms of dead or that of fine organic particles that their waste origin,) and have the attached algae the main bait. The upper jaw with a fine tooth when you eat the bait as broom, also using a flat lower jaw like a dustpan, or raking each feed on sand and mud, since or scraped, such as algae on the surface of the stone and rocks , and it needed to organ of abacus ball style that this pylorus is a digestive aid.
The abacus is the only one in 1 fish mullet small organ. This is focused on the scarcity, fishmonger's with a resourceful that market as a value-added products as food does not seem to see. At least, it is thing like can assert that almost 100% impossible to expect that you are selling this in the fish sales floor of major supermarkets.
Because I think some people do not know that the "abacus ball of mullet" is in the readers, it will introduce a step for the commercialization below.
| How to make the process of mullet abacus ball (for skewers) | |
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| 1, abacus bead attached to the stomach ahead | 7, undigested residue is visible If you halved |
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| 2, take out every internal organs with the tripe | 8, a variety of residue is remaining inside |
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| 3, cut off the tripe | 9, remove the wash foreign matter in running tap water |
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| 4, the shape of the none, truly abacus ball | 10, after washing, by shaking the salt, and the massaging wash |
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| 5, in order to adjust the shape and cut off muscle | 11, after he massaged with salt, to wash |
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| 6, it will be halved lengthwise with a knife | 12, to extend the half-split in the lateral, skewered from the side |
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| Skewering of mullet abacus ball | |
Even looking through the fishmonger's shop, the product is to be in such a simple way of rare delicacy "abacus ball of mullet (for skewers)", we are unable to find it in almost 100% probability. And this is possible from the internal organs that might have been discarded, if the original.
So I was able to introduce the abacus of products, trying to be introduced until the skewers stage of cooking, since this time of great pains.
| mullet abacus ball skewers cooking process |
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| 1, it will pepper salt to the abacus was skewered alternately with onions |
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| 2, covered with aluminum foil for burnt prevent the bamboo skewers |
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| 3, it is ready if you bake about 5 minutes in a weak level of firepower of gas grill |
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| mullet abacus ball skewers cooking |
Craftsman of fish even if you know the existence of the abacus beads, they are considered to be the customer is not a sale because not you recognize its value. So although the majority has become almost throw away things, take home without throwing away this in the craftsmen, it is of some people you have to side dish of wine to cook like this.
Mullet are often despise as an evaluation of society, seems so to speak is placed in the "fish such lower", it is understood it is interesting fish endless interested enough you know that this fish. In addition to this, that want to write the author for mullet is, "Arai sashimi" and "dried mullet roe", etc., because still there is a lot of things, it was supposed to take even two pages continue this issue in the last month.
| Continued on next page |
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An opinion and the communication are to iinfo@fish food times
Date of updating Dec.1, 2015
