Marukoban, or snubnose pompano, is a type of fish that is quite rare to see in sushi. However just because it is rare does not mean it is never used. In a way it is like matoudai, a fish that is mostly used in Okinawa and the surrounding islands. Thus, marukoban is not a traditional Edomae style fish, but it is quite delicious – particularly in temaki!
Snubnose pompano, or Trachinotus blochii (Lacepède, 1801), is a fish found in coastal waters from Japan to Africa. It is quite a firm-fleshed fish, which makes it great in all types of sushi and sashimi. I particularly love to use it in temaki, or hand rolls.
How To Prepare Marukoban (Snubnose Pompano)
This fish is very easy to prepare, and in fact the first time I used this fish was on a vacation to The Philippines! My friends wanted me to do a sushi night with local fish and I picked up this beautiful pompano at the Japanese market. I did not have my knives with me so I decided to do hand rolls as they are much more forgiving than beautiful nigiri. If you do have sushi knives, a deba will make quick work of this fish!
Pompano has a rather thick skin, but with a sharp knife it is easily slice-able. Simply make a slice behind the gills and at the tail, then use the tip of the knife to trace a slice along the top and bottom of the fish on an angle. Then simply slide in the knife along the spine until you reach the spinal column. Move the knife to the tail incision and slice off the entire fillet right to the slice behind the gills.
Next use the knife to remove the belly bones and the skin.
If you have fish tweezers you can use them to remove the bones down the center of the fillets. However as I did not have tweezers I simply cut out the middle (hence temaki). This fish is very firm so you can cut beautiful strips quite easily.
How To Make Marukoban Temaki (Pompano Sushi)
The first thing you should do is cut the fish into strips. Similar to a salmon temaki, you want the strips to be uniform and rather large so they have a bit of bite to them. Then you can make temaki.
For hand rolls you use half a sheet of nori / seaweed. Simply cut a standard sheet in half or buy already packaged half-sheets.
Lay down shari / rice in a placement as seen above, then place a few strips of pompano following the rice. You can add other ingredients as well, if you like. Cucumber, wasabi, ikura, negi, or even shiso would all pair nicely with marukoban, however if you can access it, a little yuzu kosho lightly rubbed on the fish before rolling would be divine.
Roll a temaki by bringing the bottom left corner (A) to point (B) and then rolling a cone. This prevents any empty seaweed at the bottom of the cone one sometimes gets when making or ordering temaki.
Sushi Terms Used In This Article
marukoban: (丸小判) the Japanese word for the snubnose pompano fish
matoudai: the Japanese name for the John Dory fish, another fish popular in Okinawa for eating raw
edomae: a Japanese word that means ‘in front of Edo’ and references sushi made in the traditional Edo period style.
temaki: hand rolls
nigiri: a type of sushi made of a small ball of rice with a topping(s)
deba: a Japanese thick knife meant for breaking down fish to be used in a variety of purposes
nori: sheets of dry seaweed used in sushi and as a snack
shari: sushi rice
wasabi: a Japanese root similar to horseradish with a slight spice and pungent, floral notes
ikura: salmon roe
negi: green or spring onions.
shiso: a pungent leaf used in sushi making, most often paired with ika (cuttlefish)
yuzu kosho: a Japanese condiment made of yuzu peels, salt, and chilies, which is allowed to ferment.
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