【Reading】はらぼね

【English Name】Belly bones

An indispensable subject of processing in the preliminary preparation of sushi and sashimi is the harabone (belly bones). In the world of sushi and Japanese cuisine, the rib bones of the fish body are called this, referring to the skeletal structure that spreads in an arc from the ventral vertebrae portion of the spine toward the belly side, enveloping and covering the internal organs.

At the stage when three-piece filleting (sanmai-oroshi) is finished, the work of removing these belly bones begins. In the technique of "suku-ing the belly bones," a delicate knife movement that thinly cuts the flesh away while keeping the blade tip closely adhered to the surface of the bone is essential. In addition, the pulling out of the bloodline bones (chiai-bone) with tweezers is also performed at the same time. The precision of processing around the bones greatly governs the mouthfeel of the sashimi and the quality of the finished result.

Anatomically, the ribs exist only in the abdominal-vertebrae region toward the head, and are not distributed in the caudal-vertebrae area behind the anus. On the ventral surface of the caudal-vertebrae side, a different skeletal structure called the hemal arch develops in place of the ribs.

In freshwater fish represented by the carp family (Cyprinidae), in addition to the belly bones, Y-shaped intermuscular bones (small bones) penetrate here and there throughout the flesh, so processing the bones takes considerably more effort. On the other hand, in the case of saltwater fish, which sushi restaurants mainly handle, the number of intermuscular bones is small, and as long as the belly bones and bloodline bones are carefully removed, one can bring them to the mouth without being conscious of the bones.