【Reading】まあなご

【English Name】Conger Eel (Whitespotted Conger)

Maanago (true conger eel) is a saltwater fish of the family Congridae in the order Anguilliformes, with the scientific name Conger myriaster. It is widely distributed in coastal waters from Hokkaido to the southern coast of Kyushu, along the Korean Peninsula, and in the East China Sea. It prefers shallow seafloor of sand or mud, hiding in the sand during the day and preying on small fish and crustaceans at night.

The body is brown, with a distinctive row of white dots along the lateral line. At most it reaches 1 m in total length, but there is a sexual size difference, with males around 40 cm and females around 90 cm. Its spawning grounds were long unknown, but a 2008 survey by the Fisheries Agency revealed that it spawns from June to September near the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, to the south of Okinotorishima.

As a sushi topping it is classified as white fish. It has less fat than freshwater eel (unagi) and, though light, possesses a deep umami. "Ni-anago" (anago simmered in a soy-sauce-based tare) is a standard sushi topping, with a fluffy texture as its hallmark. It is also enjoyed as tempura and kabayaki. The season is mainly around July to August.

Note that fish of the order Anguilliformes have a proteinaceous toxin in their blood, but the toxicity is destroyed by heating, so ordinary cooked dishes pose no problem.