【Reading】ねたばこ

【English Name】neta case

The refrigerated storage case that sits near the chef's hands at the sushi counter—this is the dedicated tool called the neta-bako (topping box). It is provided for the purpose of keeping the seafood, egg, and other sushi ingredients used for nigiri-zushi at an appropriate temperature and maintaining them in a state ready to be taken out the instant they are needed.

Its fixed position is the top of the counter, conventionally placed at the midpoint between the chef and the customer seats. It is not unusual for shops to have a layout in which customers can directly see the displayed toppings, and it also has an aspect of being a presentation device that visually conveys freshness and product variety.

The earlier format was a method of packing ice into a wooden box and lining up the sushi ingredients on top, a tool that has developed together with the face-to-face style of Edomae sushi. Today, models made of stainless steel with a built-in electric refrigeration mechanism have spread, and products capable of fine temperature control are on the increase.

While there are shop-specific conventions for arranging the interior, the basic form is to divide it according to ingredient categories, such as white-fleshed fish, red-fleshed fish, silver-skinned fish (hikarimono), and shellfish. Because the skill of the arrangement is directly linked to the speed of the chef's nigiri motions, it is also a part where each shop applies its own ingenuity. It is also known by the alternative name "neta-kesu" (topping case).