Yellowtail has four stage names by size. Inada is the second stage; buri is the full-grown fish.video 5-4
Learn shitami / uwami: shitami = underside, the right-hand-side meat that lies on the board and is filleted first; uwami = upper side.video 5-4
Scaling & gutting
Scale in the sink with the scaler, tail to head, a little water running. Pay attention to the fin edges. Buri-size fish: descale with the knife instead (suki-biki).video 5-4
Clean the remaining scales along the fin edges and where the knife will enter with the deba.video 5-4
Mark at the end of the anal fin and open the belly from the vent to the mark.video 5-4
Head: medium fish, so cut angled toward the head to keep more meat. Cut fully to the bone on the back side; on the belly side cut only skin and a little meat — don't damage the guts. Rotate and repeat. Knife upright against the spine, drop it to cut through.video 5-4 Alternative: remove the collar fin to fin.
Hold the head, push toward the belly, pull head and guts out together.video 5-4
Small cuts through the belly membrane over the bloodline (under the spleen), open it, rinse all blood off in cold water.video 5-4
Back on the board: no more water. Wipe dry completely, inside and out, head to tail.video 5-4
Filleting (3-piece)
Right-handers: shitami first — belly from head toward tail, then back from tail to head. Uwami: back from head to tail, then belly tail to head. Left-handers do the opposite order on each side.video 5-4
Shitami belly: knife slightly upright, cut the skin only, fin as guideline. Then tip in, shinogi (bevel) on the bone, slide toward the tail in several passes, deeper each time, tip only. Stop at the backbone.video 5-4
Shitami back: skin cut along the dorsal fin, tail to head; tip on the bone, slide to the backbone, repeat deeper.video 5-4
No pin bones at the tail end: push the knife through there, shinogi on the spine, tip dipping toward the belly, slide to detach the pin-bone/belly-bone connection from the spine. Cut the tail off. Shitami done.video 5-4
Uwami: lean the fish on the board to stabilise. Back first (head to tail), then belly (tail to head, bones only partway). Slide through the tail-end opening, detach the pin bones from the spine with the tip while keeping the belly over the knife, cut the tail off.video 5-4
Belly bones: belly toward your left, follow the bone curve with the tip, scoop pin bones and belly bones together; near the head the bones stand more upright. Trim the thin belly skin gently with the sharp part of the blade.video 5-4
Split each fillet into back and belly, leaving the pin-bone strip on the back side. Trim the top of each piece. Skin.
Belly: measure 3 fingers' width parallel to the pin-bone line. Back side:.
Cutting for nigiri — kiritsuke
Four long blocks: shitami belly, uwami belly, shitami back, uwami back. A long block is a naga-zaku.video 6-1
Right-handers: skin side down, head end right, tail left. Always cut from tail toward head.video 6-1
Cut at the collar (neck) angle of that block — shitami and uwami angles are mirror images. Wrong angle leaves a wasted triangle at the head end.video 6-1
Target piece: 3–3.5 cm × 8 cm, four-sided, about 13 g for yellowtail.video 6-2 Target: slice 10–12 g, 3 × 7 cm; finished nigiri 22–24 g.
Block taller than 3 cm: split top and bottom along the red line, tail to head, and cut the top piece the same way.video 6-2
Length is set by closing / opening the knife angle; width by how flat or upright the blade is. The thicker the meat, the more upright the knife; wider meat → open the angle.video 6-2
Aim the blade at a point 3–5 mm in from the previous cut on the board side. One stroke, then upright the knife and detach — this leaves the koba (ridge), which goes face up on the nigiri.video 6-2
Uneven height: cut the taller side first in an arc, then move the knife parallel to the board, upright and detach.video 6-2
Belly blocks wider than 8 cm: cut a parallel strip 4.5–5 cm from the bone side and treat separately. First pieces are shallow — take a first triangle, butterfly it open into a four-sided piece. Belly is stiffer: small knife cuts are fine.video 6-3
Cutting for sashimi — sogi-zukuri
Skin side down (hira-zukuri is skin up). Uwami side, top right.video 7-5
Knife laid nearly parallel to the board; hold the block with left index, middle finger and thumb. Start from the heel, one stroke, no repositioning, shave off one bite-size thin slice.video 7-5
Fold each slice on itself and pile up.
Serving
Sogi-zukuri plate: cylinder of daikon tsuma in the centre, slices draped over it, shiso at the side, two more pieces to make 5, wasabi as usual.video 7-5