One of the most popular fish in Japan is salmon. Surprisingly, salmon as a neta (sushi topping) did not become popular in Japan until around the 1980s because the salmon found around Japan is filled with parasites. Thus for millennia salmon (or sake in Japanese) was cooked. Salmon nigiri however has quickly become one of the most popular offerings at many a sushiya.
Since sake nigiri is not a traditional Edomae style sushi you will see it everywhere, from grocery stores and kaitenzushi restaurants, to higher end places. The only place you really won’t see salmon is at said traditional Edomae restaurants. These days sake is the most popular sushi fish after tuna, although I do believe it will over take it soon believe it or not.
There is also a lot to be said about the various types of salmon. For example the most used salmon in sushi is the farmed Atlantic salmon as it lacks the parasites wild caught salmon tend to get, especially in the Pacific. Therefore Japan imports a huge amount of farmed salmon from Norway (and more recently from Scotland and the UK).
What Is Sake (Fish)
Sake, when talking about fish, refers to salmon. More specifically it refers to the chum salmon which is local to Japanese waters. Even though we did not eat chum salmon raw historically, it was still an important fish in the Japanese diet.
The farmed Atlantic salmon is actually called taiseiyousake, however when you are at a restaurant or see sake on the menu, it likely refers to Atlantic salmon rather than the chum salmon from which the name originated.
There are other types of salmon (I should write an article about all the different types of salmon) such as the red salmon (benizake) or the king salmon (masunosuke). And while thanks to proper freezing techniques they can be edible raw, the Atlantic salmon is the most likely one you will come across when getting salmon at a sushiya.
How To Make A Salmon Saku Block For Nigiri
The most efficient and cost effective way to make sake nigiri is to butcher a whole salmon yourself. This is a great thing to do because not only can you cut a beautiful saku (uniform block of fish meat to be used in sushi) yourself, but you can also get the belly for sake-toro sushi. And of course there are modern things like salmon skin aburi (torched) and salmon temaki you can make with the leftover cuttings.
For this sake nigiri recipe take the salmon and butcher it into pieces. I will make a video or photo guide in the future so if you are seeing this now sorry for no guides. The goal is to slice the top quadrant of the fish into two long loins, and then cut those into rather rectangular blocks of even thickness and width.
Salmon Nigiri Recipe
For this type of nigiri there are no rules, at least tradition-wise. That means you can use whatever garnishes or sauces you like – it is for your preference.
I will show the steps for a simple version, but add some recommendations after that you might like to try. For this recipe I am just using basic sushi rice, but you can use red or black vinegar if you wanted to make something a little more creative!
Steps
- Place the block of salmon on your cutting board.
- Either perpendicularly or on an angle, cut off slices of the salmon about a quarter to a third of a centimeter thick. After preparing all the slices you need you can begin forming the nigiri.
- Place the salmon slice in your left hand (opposite if you are left handed), resting between your palm and fingers.
- Form the shari (rice ball) with your right hand.
- Use your right pointer finger to smear some wasabi on the fish and press the shari into the fish.
- Use your hand and fingers to form the nigiri, creating a nice seal between the rice and fish.
- You can optionally brush with nikiri or top with things like minced ginger or negi (green onion)
Sushi Terms Used In This Article
nigiri: a type of sushi made of a small ball of rice with a topping(s)
sake: the Japanese word for salmon. Originally it refers to the chum salmon but these days it has become an all encompassing term
neta: the topping of a sushi rice ball to make nigiri. It mostly refers to the fish, but can mean anything on top of or below the fish as well.
edomae: a Japanese word that means ‘in front of Edo’ and references sushi made in the traditional Edo period style.
kaitenzushi: Japanese conveyor belt sushi restaurant
taiseiyousake: Atlantic salmon
benizake: red salmon
masunosuke: king salmon
sushiya: a sushi restaurant
saku: a Japanese word meaning block. It refers to a portion of fish cut neatly into a rectangular prism shape for easy slicing
aburi: the method of using a kitchen torch to char the fish after it has been pressed into nigiri
temaki: a sushi hand roll most often seen in the cone shape
shari: sushi rice
wasabi: a Japanese root similar to horseradish with a slight spice and pungent, floral notes
nikiri: a Japanese condiment of reduced soy sauce with mirin, kombu, and other ingredients chosen by the chef
negi: green or spring onions