Madai Kyushu 4lb

What is Madai?
Madai (真鯛) is Japanese red sea bream, one of the most respected fish in Japanese cooking. This one is farmed in Kyushu at a highly regarded facility, known for a clean aroma, firm flesh, and a refined sweetness. Each fish averages around 4 lbs.

Madai carries deep cultural meaning in Japan — its name echoes medetai (auspicious), so it's the fish served at weddings, births, and ceremonial gifts. In the U.S. it's best known as a sushi topping, but in Japan it's eaten across the board: sashimi, grilled, steamed, and simmered. Firm and clean, it holds up to every one of them.

Specifications

How to enjoy

Raw, madai is classic as sashimi and nigiri, clean and firm, and kelp-curing (kobujime) deepens the flavor. Cooked, it takes to salt-grilling, a whole-fish sea-bream rice (tai-meshi), a simmered kabuto-ni from the head, and a clear soup (ushiojiru) from the bones and collar. As a whole fish around 4 lbs, it gives cuts for several of these from one order. Keep it cold and cook it fresh.

Pairing notes — soy and wasabi, kombu, salt, sudachi or yuzu, dashi, and a dry sake.