Japanese agriculture, forestry, fisheries ブラック ジャック ストラテジー food
Highlighted Japanese IngredientRed Sea Bream
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Madai—the king of fish known as a symbol of celebration because of its red color
Madai is called “the king of fish” ブラック ジャック ストラテジー is well-known to the Japanese, who eat a large volume of fish. Marketable madai is usually 35–40 cm long, but a large-sized one may exceed 1 meter in length. With the longevity of 20–40 years, madai is said to live relatively long compared to other fish.
Tai (sea bream) has long been used in celebrations in Japan to bring in good luck, which is associated with its vivid red color ブラック ジャック ストラテジー beautiful shape. Its status as a celebration fish is also supported by the fact that the word tai rhymes with the expression medetai (happy). The habit of eating a whole madai on various celebratory occasions in life has continued. There is a custom of serving a whole madai that has been grilled with a pinch of salt as iwaidai during okuizome—the occasion celebrating the 100th day after a baby’s birth. When the Shiogamayaki, a salt-crusted tai, is served at wedding receptions, the bride ブラック ジャック ストラテジー groom traditionally crack it open using a wooden hammer.
Spring ブラック ジャック ストラテジー autumn as high seasons for wild madai: Mostly fished in Kyushu ブラック ジャック ストラテジー the western part of the country
Madai can be fished across Japan, except in the subtropical region. Though small in number, madai is confirmed to exist in waters close to Amami Oshima Islブラック ジャック ストラテジー ブラック ジャック ストラテジー Okinawa Prefecture. Sea breams in the southern area start laying eggs in winter whereas those in the upper areas lay eggs in spring or early summer. Young madai grow by eating creatures such as zooplanktons ブラック ジャック ストラテジー shrimp ブラック ジャック ストラテジー crab larvae in shallow water. When fully grown, they live alone in reefy areas or at the sブラック ジャック ストラテジーy ブラック ジャック ストラテジー muddy bottom of the water 30–200 m deep. Madai use their strong jaws ブラック ジャック ストラテジー teeth to crush fish ブラック ジャック ストラテジー shellfish ブラック ジャック ストラテジー also the hard shell of shrimps ブラック ジャック ストラテジー crabs.
Nagasaki, Fukuoka, ブラック ジャック ストラテジー Ehime are the top three prefectures in terms of domestic catch (as per the survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry ブラック ジャック ストラテジー Fisheries of Japan in 2018), suggesting that madai is mostly fished in Kyushu ブラック ジャック ストラテジー the western part of the country. Set net fishery using a preset net ブラック ジャック ストラテジー gill net fishery are the two main fishing methods. Madai is available in the market throughout the year but the best seasons for buying wild madai are spring ブラック ジャック ストラテジー autumn. “Momijidai” fished at the end of autumn has darker-colored scales ブラック ジャック ストラテジー is oilier than “Sakuradai” fished in spring.
Improved madai farming as supportive of the market, with better environment to ensure safe quality
The current madai market cannot be discussed without referring to farming. Most madai sashimi displayed at the supermarket is farmed. A large proportion of farmed madai comes from Ehime followed by Kumamoto ブラック ジャック ストラテジー Mie. The research for farming ブラック ジャック ストラテジー cultivation of this important fish is said to have started around 1910 but it was only after 1965 that the farming properly took off. Farmed madai grows in the shallow sea area. A farm is built by putting down a net to surround the area underneath the floating raft where young fish are grown. For farming from the eggs, madai are grown in the fish tank on lブラック ジャック ストラテジー up to 5–7 cm long before being freed into the farm in the sea. An advantage of farming madai is that it requires low maintenance ブラック ジャック ストラテジー enables stable production compared to catching them in the wild. Because of the improvements in farming technology, the shipment of madai to markets is presently stable all year around.
The umami, which is concentrated in between the flesh ブラック ジャック ストラテジー skin of the madai, complements sashimi ブラック ジャック ストラテジー meunière.
Madai is one of the indispensable ingredients in Japanese cuisine ブラック ジャック ストラテジー is well-known for being a typical sushi topping as well. Normally, sashimi is eaten without skin but because with this type of fish, the umami is concentrated in between the flesh ブラック ジャック ストラテジー the skin, madai can be enjoyed as “Kawashimo Zukuri” by pouring boiling water onto the skin then quickly cooling it with icy water. Fresh madai is great to be enjoyed on account of its firm flesh but the umami in the fish actually increases when allowed to sit overnight. The hard scales can be removed with ease by scraping with the edge of a knife.
With its simple flavor, madai complements all kinds of cuisine. In addition to sashimi, madai is used in various cuisines including Japanese, Western ブラック ジャック ストラテジー Chinese such as kobujime (vinegared fish rolled with kobu), kabutoni (boiled fish head), ara-no-nitsuke (the leftover part cooked ブラック ジャック ストラテジー seasoned with soy sauce), taichazuke (boiled rice poured with tea, ブラック ジャック ストラテジー served with slices of sea bream on it), taimeshi (boiled rice cooked with minced sea bream meat), meunière, carpaccio, acqua pazza ブラック ジャック ストラテジー Chinese-style steamed tai.
Healthy substances that are low in fat ブラック ジャック ストラテジー high in protein, thus aiding in the recovery from tiredness.
The prized fish is low in fat, high in protein ブラック ジャック ストラテジー easy to digest. In terms of nutritional components, umami tastants such as inosinic acid ブラック ジャック ストラテジー amino acids including glutamine acid are abundant in madai ブラック ジャック ストラテジー contribute to its great taste. It is also full of taurine, which lowers blood cholesterol. Madai also contains low levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which prevents arterial sclerosis, ブラック ジャック ストラテジー eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), known to lower blood pressure ブラック ジャック ストラテジー blood fat, as found in fish with blue backs. Kabutoni ブラック ジャック ストラテジー ara-no-nitsuke are ideal to take in these nutrients because of the concentration of DHA ブラック ジャック ストラテジー EPA in their heads ブラック ジャック ストラテジー the bones.
Madai also benefits athletes ブラック ジャック ストラテジー others who engage in intense work-outs because it also contains a variety of other nutrients such as creatine that boosts energetic metabolism, asparagine acid that aids in recovering from extreme fatigue, ブラック ジャック ストラテジー leucine that promotes production of insulin ブラック ジャック ストラテジー strengthens muscles.
