Pacific saury is at its fattiest and most delicious in early autumn, yet rumors say it carries parasites? Fisheries research institute: no problem if cooked thoroughly

Added September 12, 2016: Do saury have parasites?Every saury season, rumors always circulate that saury carry parasites and are not suitable for eating, and there are also rumors that if a fish has two holes in its body, it means it is full of nematodes. Is that true? The Fisheries Research Institute explains that both freshwater fish and saltwater fish can serve as intermediate hosts for parasites, and when cooking saury or other fish, so long as they are cooked through they can be eaten with peace of mind.

Fish occasionally have nematodes parasitizing them, but after being cooked they are harmless to the human body. If you still have doubts, then when killing the fish remove the gills and digestive tract, and the head portion must also be cooked thoroughly, which can effectively remove parasites.

In addition, the main food of saury is a type of red copepod, which is a small crustacean. Sometimes when the fish belly is cut open and a pile of little red things is seen, it may also be this kind of copepod. After cooking it still appears red (nematodes turn white after cooking), and it carries a special flavor, which is also the source of the bittersweet taste of the saury belly.

Saury is at its plumpest in September, the most timely ingredient for early-autumn cooking

Although saury is a representative of Japanese culture, you may not know that Taiwan, China is actually the king of the catch, with an annual catch reaching 230,000 metric tons in the past two years, the highest in the world. Saury, widely distributed in the North Pacific region, migrates southward to Japanese waters in late August each year. The saury caught at this time is at its plumpest, just right for use as an early-autumn dish.

The largest source of saury catch in all of Taiwan, China is Qianzhen Fishing Port in Kaohsiung. Although through the rapid-freezing technology of fishing boats saury can now be enjoyed in all four seasons, a Japanese restaurant in Kaohsiung called "Yilang Creative Sushi" insists on using in-season catch, with the chef going directly to the fishing port every afternoon to select fish and prepare Japanese cuisine, and its saury dishes are limited to autumn.

(2) Simmered saury

Another dish, simmered saury, is very good with rice. By not removing the innards, simply cut the saury into three sections, pair with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and ginger, and simmer for about 6 hours; once the saury bones have all softened it is ready to serve.

As a child, Hu Caibin had a very poor impression of saury. "I remember the saury in my junior high school lunchbox was very astringent, because being steamed inside it had a strong fishy smell; even tilapia tasted better than it." But it was not until he began learning Japanese cuisine that Hu Caibin discovered that ordinary, cheap saury could have so many variations, and that with correct cooking saury can be very delicious.

(3) Lazy person's grilled saury

Do you find the ichiyaboshi method for saury too complicated, or the simmered saury too time-consuming to wait for? Hu Caibin specially demonstrates for everyone the most home-style dish that can also easily bring out the flavor of saury: "salt-grilled saury."

Step 1: After selecting a fresh saury, wash the fish and make a cut along the midline of the saury (above is the back, below is the belly).
Step 2: Sprinkle a little salt on the fish body.
Step 3: Place in a baking pan and grill for about seven or eight minutes, and it is done.

Tip: When grilling saury, you must first make sure the saury is thawed to a certain degree (cool to the touch on the back of your hand), so that the salt-grilled saury will not be burnt on the surface while still raw inside; when preparing to put it in the oven, be sure to preheat for 3 to 5 minutes first, so that the moisture inside the saury flesh is instantly locked in; in addition, when grilling saury in an oven you can turn off the heat when the flesh is 80 percent cooked, then use the residual heat remaining in the oven to finish it, so the flesh will be less dry when eaten.

Wash the fish and make a cut along the midline of the saury (above is the back, below is the belly).

Rub with salt

Place in a baking pan and grill for about seven or eight minutes, done.

(This article received earmarked funding from the Jianzhen Environmental Education Foundation for personnel costs, but the foundation does not interfere at all with news topic selection or reporting and writing, ensuring news independence.)