Starspotted smooth-hound (Mustelus manazo)

     It's not so common for me to write about this kind of fish as a topic of my blog and you can see how it is in the following picture. Yes, it's a kind of shark.
     I live in Ehime Prefecture in the southern part of Japan, and especially in southern Ehime, this shark has been eaten for a long time. The name of this local cuisine is "Fuka no yuzarashi". I'm addicted to it.
     Starspotted smooth-hound is called "Fuka" in Ehime. You strip the starspotted thin membrane off the skin of a fresh one first and fillet it with its whole skin. Next, you slice it into what you call sashimi in Japan, then blanch it in the boiling water, and lastly immerse it in iced water. When you eat it, you dip it in the fermented soybean paste blended with mustard. This cuisine is essential for ceremonial occasions such as coming of age, marriage, funeral and ancestral worship in Ehime. The bland taste of "Fuka" is well blended in with a spicy paste and it stimulates our appetite. It can be more colorful and tasty with tofu, cucumber, konjaku and other vegetables.
     I wonder where else people eat similar dishes in the world.

(Vocabulary)
starspotted smooth-hound　星鮫　フカ(愛媛での呼び名)
local cuisine  郷土料理
genre  ジャンル
blanch   <野菜など> を湯通しする, 湯にくぐらせる
immerse  (フォーマル) (液体に) …をすっかり浸す, つける
immerse sb/sth in something
Immerse your foot in cold water.  足を冷水につけなさい．
fermented soybean paste  味噌
ceremonial occasions for the coming of age, marriage, funeral and ancestral worship  冠婚葬祭
bland foods  淡泊な
stimulate one's appetite   食欲をそそる

(KW: フカのゆざらし　愛媛　郷土料理)

Comments

[KUMO]

(^o^)　<----- Japanese smilie

[Jessi Y.]

That looks really delicious!
Poor sharkie...:P