Negitoro () is Mincing raw tuna in Japanese cuisine. It is typically made from toro (the fatty parts of tuna), and served with negi (green onion). In addition to being an ingredient to sushi of various types, they are used as a Donburi topping, forming negitorodon.
Origin
Negitoro rolls may have originated in 1964, at a sushi restaurant in the
Minowa Station neighborhood of
Tokyo. Chefs at Kintaro Sushi initially prepared them for consumption at staff meals, and they were later offered to customers. After a positive reception, the main location of Kintaro (in
Asakusa) added them to its menu.
Another theory credits chef Hiromasa Sasaki with their invention, of the Ginza restaurant Sushi Sasaki.
Etymology
Multiple hypotheses exist.
Combination of green onion and toro part of tuna
Negitoro is so named because it is a combination of
negi (green onion) and
toro, which is the fatty parts of tuna. Since the 1980s, with the appearance of new
toro sushi combined with
Pungency vegetables, the well-matched taste and combination of
toro, green onion and
nori seaweed have become popular.
Toro referring to something other than part of tuna
One of the restaurants hypothesized as the origin of the dish claims the dish was so named based on , a dish that was popular around the place at the time.
Negi referring to something other than green onion
In the field of construction in Japan, digging soil from the ground to constructing building is termed
negiru (), and it was hypothesized that the term adopted into
negiru () or
negitoru () to refer to meat being scraped. Tuna fishing groups support the hypothesis. However, dictionary editors question the hypothesis, claiming there is no verifiable usage of the verb form of the adopted word
negitoru (), and thus the hypothesis cannot be sustained.
It has been suggested the negitoru origin hypothesis emerged after the 2000s, and until the 1990s the mainstream hypothesis on the origin of the negitoro dish was that the term is a combination of negi (green onion) and toro (fatty tuna).
Mass-market product
Negitoro sold to the
mass market and distributed into retail channels like
is
mass-produced in
Fish factory. They use
lean meat of various fishes, including, for example,
yellowfin tuna,
marlin,
bigeye tuna, and
albacore, then adding additives like
vegetable oil,
shortening,
lard,
, and
. Dedicated fat products for the purpose of
negitoro manufacturing have also been produced.
Japanese and have raised concerns about such practices being possibly misleading and raising potential health concerns. However, there are also claims that unprocessed tuna mash is not popular.
Gallery
Kaisendon - sashimi fish bowl - July 2014.jpg|On kaisen-don
Ume shiso soba, negitoro rice (30337331526).jpg|On rice and soba
Negitoro (243099726).jpg|In makizushi
Kaiten-zushi 004.jpg|Kaiten sushi
Citations
Bibliography
