Breaking Down a Whole Yellowfin Tuna Caught by Taisho and Turning It into Sashimi, Garlic Steak, Skin with Ponzu, and Cold Pasta

According to Taisho, this tuna was caught off an island in Okinawa and probably weighs around 17 kg. Even so, Taisho says it's "still small" for a yellowfin. More than a week has passed since it was caught, and aging has softened the flesh considerably. Right after it was caught, the flesh was apparently firm.

On the island, Taisho also ate tuna on the same day it was caught. Taisho had assumed it wouldn't taste good, but it turned out to be surprisingly edible. In response, Ryuji said, "Tuna is all about aging."

Following Taisho's instructions, Ryuji took the knife for the butchering. First, the head comes off. The parts around the head are set aside to be used for the restaurant's staff meals. As Ryuji cut, they let slip, "It's hard," but Taisho said, "This is actually on the soft side."

The basic method is the same three-piece filleting used for ordinary fish. Ryuji removed the back side while feeling for the bones, and on the other side, inserted the knife from around the vent. However, since tuna are large, the fishmonger's method is to cut through the middle of the backbone to remove the flesh. After the fillets come off, meat remains between the backbone and the bones. This is what's known as nakaochi, and Taisho explained that it gets scraped off so the bones are cleaned completely. Taisho said, "You can eat every part of a tuna," and added that because this fish was so fresh, even the dark bloodline meat could be used this time.

When Ryuji filleted the back side on their own, Taisho remarked, "Takes some strength, doesn't it?" Ryuji described the fun of the experience as being "like KidZania." Seiya, a young man who had just started working at Taisho's restaurant, was also there and helped with the butchering and cooking.

The first dish was sashimi. While removing the skin, Taisho asked Ryuji whether they should think about a method suited to home cooks rather than Taisho's own way. Ryuji's answer was, "Today I'm not really thinking about home cooking. You can't get this at home anyway." The removed skin was not thrown away but saved for later.

Even the part corresponding to otoro has almost no fat. According to Ryuji, the tuna sold in supermarkets is basically yellowfin, and it's cheap. Bluefin shows up occasionally, but yellowfin is more common, Ryuji said.

After tasting it, Ryuji said, "It's completely different" and "The flavor is so rich." Ryuji also said there's no comparison with supermarket tuna. Taisho, too, reflected that it was way better than when it was freshly caught.

Taisho had brought along chomeiso, which Taisho had eaten on the island. It was sent by the island's fishing master, and apparently it's chopped and eaten with sashimi. It's sometimes also added to goat soup. Ryuji described it as "something like a Japanese herb," and after eating it with the sashimi, said, "They go well together."

A homemade seasoning prepared by the same fishing master had also arrived. At first Ryuji thought it looked like koregusu, but it actually seems to be a seasoned vinegar. Taisho said the islanders put it on everything. When Taisho had it on the island, it was very spicy. After pouring it over the sashimi, Ryuji remarked that it had some sweetness too and tasted "like a seriously upgraded version of Kantan Su." The two agreed that "it would sell if you put it on the market."

Next, the skin-side portion was seared into a steak. Ryuji's thinking went like this: for toro or bluefin, grilling over a grate would be better. But yellowfin with this little fat is too lean for a steak. So cooking it in butter and topping it with garlic would definitely taste better. The idea is to add garlic and fat to lean ingredients.

The steps are as follows.

1. Shallow-fry garlic in olive oil to make garlic chips
2. Salt the tuna
3. Add butter to the garlic-infused oil and sear the tuna skin side first

As for doneness, Ryuji believes that "since it's fresh enough to eat as sashimi, it's better not to cook it through." After searing the surface, Ryuji let residual heat finish it to rare, and cooked only one thick piece a little longer. Taisho said, "I'd never thought of putting butter on tuna," and Ryuji replied, "I think it works with yellowfin."

The sauce is made without washing the pan, because the umami of the butter remains. About 2 tablespoons of soy sauce go in and are allowed to caramelize, then mirin is added. Two shakes of Ajinomoto bring it close to the taste of dashi soy sauce. The garlic chips go on last, since mixing them into the sauce would make them lose their crunch. To finish, chopped chomeiso was scattered on top. If you can't get it, other herbs such as Italian parsley are fine, Ryuji said.

On tasting, Taisho praised it as "not dry." According to Ryuji, any more cooking would dry it out. At one point Taisho joked, "This ingredient is all thanks to me." When the fishing master's vinegar was added for a change of flavor, the two concluded that it worked well too.

Next, at Taisho's suggestion, they used the removed skin. The idea was to prepare it like pufferfish skin with ponzu. The skin still has scales on it, so those come off first. Taisho explained that otherwise they stay in your mouth. After that, the skin is briefly blanched in boiling water and drained.

The boiled skin became soft enough that you could tell just by touching it. Taisho said, "The classic would be ponzu," but here too they used the fishing master's vinegar. They added a pinch of salt and some scallions.

After eating it, Ryuji was surprised that yellowfin had such a rich part. Taisho agreed: "It's got fat on it, right?" Both of them said the vinegar made a nice accent.

Along these lines, Ryuji said that lately, encountering an ingredient they'd never come across gets them excited. Ryuji knows that from viewers' perspective, this becomes a "can't make it" kind of video. Even so, Ryuji asked to be allowed to put out videos like this once in a while. Taisho replied, "But if you have a tuna, you can make it."

Finally, they made pasta with the scraped meat taken from the nakaochi (there was more than 100 g). According to Ryuji, one of Ryuji's signature dishes is "negitoro pasta." This time they'd do it with the scraped meat. At home, negitoro can be used as a substitute, Ryuji said. Taisho had never had negitoro pasta.

Since the scraped meat is lean red flesh with no fat, it's minced with a knife, placed in a bowl, and supplemented with olive oil. The amount is about 1 tablespoon per serving, which is on the generous side. Two pinches of salt are added, followed by about 10 g of grated garlic. Ryuji said, "In Italian cooking, garlic is often paired with it," and noted that adding raw garlic makes it really delicious, though not many people do it. This time it was made as a cold dish, with quartered cherry tomatoes added as well.

To season the pasta itself, Ryuji used about 2 tablespoons of a dashi soy sauce Ryuji has been hooked on lately. It's a product containing mackerel flakes and bonito, and it pairs well with olive oil, Ryuji said. Thin noodles are the choice, because thick noodles in a cold dish turn out too firm and chewy. After boiling, chilling the noodles in ice water until your hands get cold firms them up and makes them tasty, Ryuji said. The water is drained well, a pinch of salt is added, and the scraped tuna goes on top. Seiya's julienned chomeiso was scattered over it, completing the "Cold Pasta with Minced Tuna."

At the tasting, they agreed the tomatoes were "totally the right call." Ryuji said it's a flavor you could eat even when worn down by the summer heat. Taisho said the chomeiso "has a parsley-like quality." Adding the fishing master's vinegar tightened up the flavor. Ryuji said eating it reminded them of Chiba's namero. Apparently, namero is eaten with vinegar.

While making the pasta, Ryuji said, "Cooking like this is what I love most." Ryuji likes cooking when nothing has been decided. Since Ryuji looks at the ingredients and decides "this might be good," no recipes are planned in advance. Because of their work, Ryuji does develop recipes, but what Ryuji really loves is cooking with whatever's on hand without thinking ahead. And Ryuji added that you can't do that unless you cook quite a lot on a regular basis.

Taisho said it's the same for them. Even when a customer asks, "Make that thing you made for me before," Taisho sometimes has forgotten what it was, since everything is thought up on the spot. Ryuji said the two of them have a similar feel for cooking in real time.

Taisho said they watch Ryuji's videos often. As a result, when making staff meals, Taisho has started using scissors instead of a knife and eating out of the packaging instead of plates so it can be thrown away afterward. It's to let Seiya rest even a little sooner. Ryuji agreed, saying it's fine to use granulated dashi for staff meals.

Taisho said that after touring a Hondashi factory, they came to understand the hard work of the people who make it, and now actively use Hondashi. When Taisho put Hondashi in a staff-meal fried rice, Seiya apparently loved it. Ryuji replied that their own grandmother used to do that too.

As for Seiya, Taisho said that the day before, Seiya had said, "I want to go fishing," so they went together. Taisho said they treat Seiya no differently from their own children. Ryuji told Seiya that if Taisho's restaurant is your first job, you'll be able to make it anywhere. During the cooking, Taisho and Ryuji repeatedly praised Seiya's movements: putting out the rubber spatula and the strainer before being asked, and knowing where the ice was.

After eating everything from the sashimi to the skin, Ryuji reflected, "Even an unfamiliar ingredient can become a full course, depending on how you cook it." Ryuji closed the episode by saying they'd like Taisho to come again whenever Taisho catches something, and that Ryuji would also like to travel to different places and search for delicious things together with Taisho.