If you’re traveling to Japan in the summer and visiting a sushi restaurant, I highly recommend you to try “Suzuki” (Japanese seabass).
Seabass, along with other white-fleshed fish such as snapper and flounder, is characterized by its pale color and subtly rich flavor.
The meat of the seabass is soft, light, and savory.
Not only is seabass delicious when eaten raw, it’s also delightful when grilled. You might enjoy it in Italian restaurants in Japan where it’s served in dishes like Acqua Pazza and meunière.
The skin of the seabass is flavorful, and it’s delicious even when simply sprinkled with salt and baked in the oven.
The peak season for seabass is summer. The flavor of the seabass significantly changes with the seasons. In autumn, when they begin to carry eggs, the flavor deteriorates and they may taste somewhat fishy, so I wouldn’t recommend them.
The seabass is considered a lucky fish in Japan due to a story about Heian-era politician Taira no Kiyomori, who became a chancellor after a seabass jumped onto his ship during a pilgrimage to Kumano.
One reason why fish tastes so good in Japan is due to the technique called “ikejime”, which is executed immediately after the fish is caught.
This unique Japanese technique ensures the freshness and quality of the fish, so much so that high-end sushi restaurants in places like New York air-freight fish that have been processed using “ikejime” in Japan.
The seabass served in Japanese high-end restaurants is not only subjected to traditional “ikejime”, but also to a unique technique that involves pulling out the nerves from the tail end, effectively sealing the freshness of the fish within just 10 seconds.