Otoro Sushi – Enjoy the most valued part of the tuna belly with sushi in two ways, seared and drizzled with yuzu juice or just with a touch of soy sauce. Either way, the sushi literally melts in your mouth!
Lately, I started to make my own Nigiri Sushi (握り寿司), which is the most common type of sushi with a slice of raw fish on top of sushi rice pillow. Today I’ll show you how to make this delicious Otoro Sushi (大トロ寿司) two ways; seared and un-seared.
Watch How To Make Otoro Sushi
Otoro Sushi – Enjoy this prized part of the tuna two ways, seared and drizzled with yuzu juice or just with a bit of soy sauce. Either way, it melts in your mouth!
What’s Otoro (大トロ)?
Otoro is the most prized part of the tuna belly and it’s also the fattest part of the tuna/maguro (鮪). This delicious cut tuna belly is located at the lowest section of the tuna belly and it is highest in fat content and light in color. The well-marbled Otoro is so soft and tender that it literally melts in your mouth.
Otoro is very rare so you may not see it offered in most of the sushi restaurants, and the price is usually ridiculously high because less than 1% of the tuna body can be categorized as Otoro.
Image from Metropolitansushi.com
Sushi-grade tuna for Chutoro & Otoro Sushi
Online sashimi stores like Honolulu Fish Company, Sizzle Fish, and Seattle Fish Company carries varieties of sushi-grade fish, including Otoro and Chutoro. For those of you who don’t have access to high-quality sushi-grade fish in your local area in the US, you can now enjoy sushi at your own home by placing the order online!
Making Otoro Sushi at Home
I highly recommend serving Otoro with sushi rice because Otoro can be too fatty to eat on its own.
For Otoro, a very popular way for sushi restaurants to serve is slightly seared (Aburi, 炙り). Simply use a blow torch to lightly sear Otoro pieces to bring out the latent flavors and umami. Seared tuna resembles more like a slice of marbled steak than a piece of fish.
Now just close your eyes and let it melt away in your mouth…
Just a quick note, true Otoro is really fatty and it’s like eating a stick of butter. If you haven’t tried it before, I recommend trying Chutoro first. Chutoro also has a very high-fat content but with a bit more red meat.
What alcoholic beverage goes well with sushi?
Typically with sushi, we love enjoying it with sake or beer as an alcoholic beverage of choice. But did you know wine goes well with sushi too?
For today’s Otoro sushi, we decided to try it with a 2013 Rose of Pinot Noir- Central Coast from Dolin Malibu Estate Vineyards.
The Otoro sushi and this rosé wine paired really well. The crisp light fruity rosé cleaned the palate perfectly after the fatty tuna. This rosé wine had a really light and refreshing smell, almost like walking in a field of flowers during the springtime. As you drink it, it is smooth and light with strong hints of berries and a slight hint of citrus. The finish is clean and leaves you wanting for another sip, after you take another bite of the Otoro sushi. Enjoy this wine on a warm day or with your favorite sushi!
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Otoro Sushi Two Ways
Video
Ingredients
- sushi-grade otoro (fatty tuna)
- sushi rice pillows
- yuzu
For Serving
- soy sauce
- wasabi
- sushi ginger (for my homemade recipe, click here)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Remove the skin and trim around the piece.
- Slice to desired thickness. Due to the high fat content, a thinner slice is recommended.
- Scrape the meat off from the skin. This part is considered one of tuna’s most delicious part and you can use it to make negitoro donburi.
- With a kitchen blow torch, sear the otoro to bring out the latent umami flavors.
- Place on the sushi pillows… and squeeze yuzu juice on top of the seared otoro. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and sushi ginger.
Our Recommendations for Buying Sashimi Online
When we have a sudden craving for sashimi we usually buy from our local Japanese supermarkets. If you don't have a reliable shop to purchase quality sashimi nearby, we would recommend buying from Catalina Offshore online.
They've been in business for over forty years and all the sashimi products we've tried from them are outstanding. Disclosure: We earn a small percentage commission from your purchase of products linked to Catalina Offshore.
