Japanese traditional simmered fish, Nitsuke. Important tips when cooking fish!

Hello everyone, welcome to my channel, KyoDongKa. I'm Ryusei. Today I introduce Japanese simmered fish. In Japan, this dish is called Nitsuke. And today, I'll show you two types of fish. Sea bream, Tai, Grant, Isaki. Nitsuke is a very simple, it goes well with Japanese sticky rice and sake. It is loved by all ages. Nitsuke is one of the representative Japanese fish menu. I hope this video will be interesting and informative for you. Yes, let's make it. And these are today's fishes. Sea bream, Tai. This Dai is called Kasugo Dai, which is called in Chiba prefecture. And the Grant is called Isaki, which is called in Nagasaki prefecture. At first, I remove the scales. Both fishes have many scales, so it is important to remove them carefully. The tip of descaling is to move the fish descaler from tail to head. And we can do it with a knife as well. The knife is easier to remove the scale close to the fin and around the head. It is uncomfortable to remain the scales even a bit. That's why descaling is quite important. Okay. Next, I remove the gills and innards. I cut off the gills with the tip of the knife. Opposite side. Okay. And this is the front side of the fish, so I cut the back side of the belly to remove the innards. Okay. We can do this work in the sink. It is more efficient because we can remove them and wash it soon. Once I get rid of them, I make a cut to the blood. This is so important to skim off the unpleasant smell. And I use a toothbrush to clean it carefully. To make delicious nitsuke, the careful preparation is essential. Okay, before and after. I cleaned it well. Okay. Next, isaki. I'll cut off the head. I move the knife along the fins. And turn it. Again. And cut off the spine. Okay. Then, I open the skin of the belly. It has a beautiful eggs. I take them gently. The taste of egg is very good, so I'll simmer them in nitsuke. And cut off the blood. Okay. I wash out the blood with a toothbrush and remove the remaining innards carefully. Okay, beautiful. I remove the gills from the head. Nice. And clean it as well. Okay. The blood doesn't remain. This is important. I wiped out the water. Let's cut it into fillets. I slide the knife on the bone. And turn it. Back side. I cut to the spine along the bone. Then, I cut off the ribs. Nice. The opposite side. I slide the knife smoothly. Belly side. At last, I cut off the ribs. Good. I trim off the ribs. This is Deba knife. It is easy to cut the fish into fillets. Okay. I place the head facing right. And remove the pin bones. The bone of Isaki is very hard. So it is safety to remove them before eating. We tend to forget to remove this head side bone. Please check it. Okay. Although there is almost no meat, I'll simmer the bone as well. It will give the flavor to the sauce. I remove the blood like this. Okay. Next, I divide the head into half. It is a little bit hard. Good. I cut it. Okay. I clean the cutting board and knife. Next, I make cuts to the thick part. This allows us to cook them evenly and quickly. It is important to cook them quickly to make the texture fluffy. This cutting way is called Kazari-bocho in Japanese. It makes the finish beautiful. Okay. Nice. I do the same Kazari-bocho to Isaki as well. I make cuts to the thick part. Okay. Next, I'll do Shimo-furi. Shimo-furi is adding the fishes to the hot water. Shimo-furi is one of the most important and essential step to make delicious Nitsuke. Yes, let's do Shimo-furi. I prepared hot water, about 80 degrees. The heat is medium-low. And I add sea breams to the hot water to remove the unpleasant smell and excess fat. Nice. I keep them for about 1 minute. Okay. I remove and transfer them to the cold water. Nice. And I clean them again. The fishes become fragile, so I handle them gently. Okay. Shimo-furi is done. I do Shimo-furi to Isaki as well. I also keep them for 1 minute. And transfer them to the water. If we do Shimo-furi, we can remove the scales and blood easily. I clean them carefully. Okay. The preparation of the fish is done. Next, I prepare garnishes. This is burdock, Gobo, which is grown in Aomori Prefecture. We often use Gobo for Nitsuke, as the flavor and crunchy texture of Gobo goes well with the rich taste and soft texture of Nitsuke. I divide it into quarters. Okay. And cut it into bite-sized pieces, above 3 cm intervals. Okay. And this is Japanese leek, which is grown in Saitama Prefecture. Today, I don't use head part and make fine cuts to the surface, and cut it into bite-sized pieces. I often do this cutting way. This allows Japanese leek to cook quickly and soak up the flavors. And we can use it instead of Gobo. This texture and flavor also go well with Nitsuke. The tip is moving the knife same rhythm. Okay. At last, ginger, which is grown in Kochi Prefecture. Ginger reduces the smell of the fish and gives nice flavor. Okay, the step of preparation is very, very important. And there are two important factors of delicious Nitsuke. These are using fresh fishes and careful preparation. Next, these are sauce ingredients, and this is the recipe. Today, I introduce a specific soy sauce, Tamari Shoyu. This Tamari Shoyu is produced in Aichi Prefecture. Tamari Shoyu gives richer and deeper flavor to the dishes. Tamari Shoyu elevates the flavor, but you can use soy sauce which you have. Let's combine the sauce ingredients. I add sake and mirin to the pan and heat it to remove the alcohol for about 3 minutes. The amount of sake and mirin is a bit large, so it takes time to remove the alcohol. Three minutes later, I add the water, sugar, soy sauce, and Tamari Shoyu. Then, I add the vegetables. Ginger, burdock, and Japanese leek. I simmer them for a few minutes. Then, I put the sea bream. Again, the tip is to cook them quickly over high heat. If the fish is overcooked, the texture becomes firm, so I cook them for about 6 to 8 minutes over high heat to make them soft and juicy. I pour the sauce over them again and again. It is quite important to make Nitsuke just before eating. If we don't eat it right now, we should stop it after shimoguri. The taste of this sauce is thick because we don't let the fishes start to soak the flavor, so we eat it with the sauce. Almost. Please look at the eyes. They turn to white. This is a sign of cooked. I check them by touch. If they became a bit firm, they are cooked. I turn off the heat. Okay, Nitsuke is done. And there is one more important thing. It is eat them quickly. Let's arrange it on the plate. Okay. Finally, I pour the sauce. Tai no Nitsuke is done. This is one of the traditional Japanese fish dish. Let's eat it. Itadakimasu. It is soft, moist, and juicy. And the taste of fish and sauce is perfect. I dip it to the sauce like this. It is very delicious. And Isaki version is almost same. I combine the sauce ingredients and simmer the vegetables. Then I add Isaki to the pan and pour the sauce over them. The difference is that it takes a shorter time than sea bream tai because they are fillets. The time is about 5 to 6 minutes. If you use fillets of the fish, cook them for about 5 minutes. About 3 minutes later, I add the egg to the pan. They are also cooked soon. Almost. Okay, Isaki no Nitsuke is done. The smell of the fish and sauce is so good. I arrange it on the plate. Finally, I pour the sauce. Okay, done. This was very delicious, too. Thank you. Did you enjoy? Nitsuke is one of the most traditional and popular fish menu. The rich taste is so delicious. I hope you enjoy Japanese simmered fish, Nitsuke. Thank you for watching to the end.