Home to key octopus fishing grounds which produce a significant portion of Japanese octopus, Tomamae town in Hokkaido is renowned for its fisheries, especially its catches of giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini). In Tomamae, the fishing industry employs an estimated 10% of the population of 3,200, which includes the octopus fishermen of the Kita-Rumoi Fisheries Cooperative.
Japanese fisherman have hauled up another giant squid in their nets – and this time it was alive.
The squid was 5.8 metres long, including its tentacles. It was the fourth giant squid fisherman in central Japan’s Toyama Prefecture have caught in their nets already this year.
From what little is known about giant squid, 300m is the limit of where they rise to. They prefer anywhere between 600m and 1800m
Octopus sushi certainly looks impressive on a sushi platter. It is often served with soy sauce for dipping, as well as wasabi and pickled ginger. This sushi can be served on its own as an appetizer or with other types of nigiri and maki sushi for a complete meal.
Tako is the Japanese word for octopus and refers in a broad sense to the family of Octopodidae (madako-ka).
Tako as Ingredient for Sushi or Sashimi
In general, tako is not eaten raw (nama tako, 生蛸) and is a popular ingredient (yude-dako, ゆでだこ) for sushi and sashimi after cooking. The meat is characterised by a pleasing texture, tenderness and an exquisite taste.
If tako is left to rest for some time after cooking, until it has cooled down to a temperature range between room and body temperature, it is most tasty. Lowering the temperature for cooling or freezing has a negative effect on the flavours and texture. Correctly prepared tako sushi or sashimi is pleasantly fleshy, tender, juicy and the consistency of the slightly crunchy suction cups offers an exciting sensory variety. When preparing nigirzushi, either distinctive or hidden cuts are added to the tako meat, otherwise the firm meat would not adequately follow the shape of the rice (kakushi-bōchō, 隠し包丁). In order to adhere better to the rice, a wave pattern, similar to a washboard, is often added to the piece (neta or tane) when cutting (sazanami-kiri, さざなみ切り). Alternatively, the section from the tentacle can be fixed with a wrapped strip of dried algae (nori, 海苔).
Some dishes made from Japanese chef’s octopus
In the video below, you can see Giant Octopus Fishing & How Japan Chef Cutting Giant Octopus, Octopus Processing
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Video resource: Noal Farm
