Hi, I'm Francis,
the host of this show "Cooking with Dog."
First, let’s clean the fresh aji, or horse mackerel.
Lightly rinse the fish under running water.
As shown, place the aji on the cutting board covered with a sheet of paper.
Remove the excess water with a paper towel.
Make a deep diagonal cut along the base of the side or pectoral fin.
Flip it over
and cut off the head diagonally.
Make a shallow cut along the belly
and remove the innards using the knife.
Thoroughly rinse the inside under running water.
Place the aji on a plate covered with a paper towel.
And now, let’s fillet the aji.
Remove the excess moisture from the inside,
and outside using a paper towel.
Place the aji diagonally on a cutting board to make it easier to fillet .
While tilting the blade, make a shallow angled cut along the belly
and then a deeper horizontal cut as shown.
Rotate the aji 180 degrees
and repeat the process. 22 00:02:03,008 --> 00:02:06,123 Insert the knife into the tail end
and slide the blade along the backbone toward the head,
removing the fillet.
Then, detach the fillet from the tail fin.
Flip the rest of the aji over.
Make a shallow angled cut along the back
and then a deeper horizontal cut.
Rotate it 180 degrees
and repeat as before.
Insert the knife into the tail end,
hold the tail fin
and slide the blade along the backbone,
removing the other fillet.
Finally, detach it from the tail fin.
Remove the rib bones from both fillets.
Make a shallow cut along the end of the rib bones
and then shave them off.
Next, remove the small bones from the center of the fillets.
Pinch the small bone with kitchen tweezers
and pull it out toward the head.
Touch the center of the fillets with your fingers to make sure there aren’t any bones left.
Now, let’s remove the skin.
First, peel the skin back with your hands, making a place to hold.
Place the back of the blade between the fillet and the skin
and push it toward the tail, removing the skin.
Likewise, peel the skin from the other fillet.
Finally, cut the fillets into sashimi pieces.
Make two shallow cuts lengthwise in the fillet.
Using a long knife such as a sashimi knife,
pull the blade across the fillet to cut it into bite-size pieces.
Make shallow diagonal cuts in the other fillet,
making a diamond pattern.
Likewise, cut the fillet into bite-size pieces.
Place the sashimi onto a plate
garnished with the shredded daikon, shiso leaves and seaweed salad.
The fresh aji we used had firm flesh
and a moderate amount of fat making it exceptionally delicious.
Rinse the head and tail thoroughly
and place them next to the sashimi as a dramatic garnish
emphasizing the freshness of the dish.
Aji sashimi goes great with soy sauce with wasabi and grated ginger.
Train your eyes to pick out the freshest aji
and make your own sashimi.
Good luck in the kitchen!