Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Yellowtail Collar (Hamachi Kama)

At a sushi restaurant, yellowtail usually refers to the Japanese amberjack, a fish found in the northwest Pacific, from Japan to Hawaii. Young yellowtail are known as hamachi and older yellowtail are buri. Kama is the neck or cheek of the yellowtail (the portion that surrounds the front fins near the face of the fish) and is the fattiest part of the yellowtail. 
It is usually grilled and eaten with soy or ponzu sauce. It is very bony. The easiest way to eat it is to pick it up and chew on it, or you can pick at it with chopsticks or use a fork. 
Below, the bones that are left after the meat is gone. 
This last picture was taken without a flash, so there is some color distortion. It is much less fatty than salmon collar, but I think I enjoy the salmon collar a little more. There is a surprising amount of meat on it, but I think it was a little dry. I think I might enjoy it cooked a little less, but it was still good. 

1 comment:

  1. I ADORE hamachi kama!! ADORE IT! It's slightly embarrassing to eat at a restaurant but... I HAVE GOTTEN OVER THAT because it's just so dang good. I am going to suck on the bones! LOL.

    ReplyDelete