【Reading】まつかわづくり

【English Name】Matsukawa-zukuri

Matsukawa-zukuri is a technique that, among 'kawashimo-zukuri' (yushimo-zukuri, skin-scalding preparation), is given this particular name when sea bream is the material. Boiling water is poured over a skin-on block (saku), it is immediately tightened in ice water, and the sashimi is sliced with the skin still on.

The skin surface to which the hot water was applied shrinks, producing a pattern resembling the bark of a pine tree, which is the origin of the name. Besides sea bream, it can be widely used for white-fleshed fish that store umami beneath the skin, including grunt (isaki), barracuda (kamasu), cutlassfish (tachiuo), blackthroat seaperch (nodoguro), tilefish (amadai), and splendid alfonsino (kinmedai).

Basic procedure
With the skin side up, the block is covered with a cloth or paper, and hot water is poured evenly over the whole. It is immediately dropped into ice water to cool it to the core, the moisture is carefully removed, and then it is moved on to slicing. After this series of steps, the skin softens just right, and it is finished with a good mouthfeel while making use of the flavor of the fat sealed just beneath the skin.

Unlike 'yakishimo-zukuri,' which sears over fire, it is distinctive in that it is finished with hot water. Some restaurants incorporate it as a nigiri-zushi topping, and its strong point is the contrast created between the texture of the skin surface and the sweetness of the flesh.