Sea Bream

There are two ways to serve ma-dai, red sea bream, as sushi and sashimi—without skin and with skin. The purpose of retaining the skin is to enjoy the most delicious part of this fish—the very thin fatty layer of flesh immediately beneath the skin. But the skin of the raw fish is too chewy and unpleasant to bite, and it also tastes fishy. So the shimofuri technique is used to treat the skin with boiling water. You can apply these filleting and blanching techniques to all bream, porgy, and snapper family fish.