【青森県東部と北海道のさかな大好き談義】

　わたしのブログ記事ではときどき魚の捌きなどを書くのですが、今回久しぶりの八戸周辺訪問と言うことで、敬意を表して「八食センター」を探訪しておりました。
　扱われている魚種は、その時期の旬の魚たちなので、訪問中の食事でなにかと参考になるのですね。穴子やハモなど系統は北海道ではあんまり見かけない。ホヤはさすが三陸海岸ということで、たくさん出荷されている。また、ニシンはいまどき北海道では久しぶりの「群来」で沸いていて、わが家でも毎週３匹程度を捌き続けております。また、カレイで「オイラン〜花魁という意味だとか」と接頭語がついたヤツがたくさん出回っているではありませんか。どうも聞いたら、その腹部のビーナスラインが絶世の美しさで男達の目線を釘付けにするということ（笑）。まぁそういわれてみれば、肌つやといい、なかなかの美形と見えるようになるから不思議不思議。このオイランカレイは見事に煮付けられたヤツを食べることもできた。なかなかに美味な逸品で、堪えられませんでした。どうも酒がすすむ。
　２日目の十和田会場の懇親会では地域の工務店の方で「先週末、津軽海峡の海でサクラマス釣りをやっていました」「もう寒くって、ただただ身を屈め続けていました（身振り）」というお話し。すっかり同情の念が募ってきてどんどん口をついて出てくる地域の海の魚の話を聞き出しておりました。いや、面白かった。
　八食センターでは、この写真の他にもたくさんの珍しい魚種を見ていましたが、イカとんびまで発見できた。じゃぁ、タコとんびやいかにと探したり、魚屋さんに聞いたりしましたが、八戸ではあまり流通していないようでしたね。
　しかし、まことに「地域間情報交流」として魚種の違いと近似性に深く頷かされる。とくにニシンについては六カ所で取れるニシンは「ブランドニシン」とされて珍重されているというお国自慢も聞かされておりました。う〜む、食してみたい。というか、ぜひ丁寧に捌いてみたい。
　あ、魚ばかりではなく「馬刺し」も出されていて、久しぶりにありがたく食させていただけました。北海道ではあまり聞かない食習慣ですね。やっぱり食の話題はサイコー。一気に「わかりあえる」。


English version⬇

Discussions on the love of fish between eastern Aomori and Hokkaido.
There is no topic more inviting than the exchange of information on the regional characteristics of fish species and foods, such as flounder, herring, salmon, horsemeat, etc. Superb information to whet your appetite. ...

　I sometimes write about fish processing in my blog posts, and this time, as my first visit to the Hachinohe area in a while, I was exploring the Hachishoku Centre out of respect.
　The species of fish being handled are the seasonal fish of the time of year, so they are a good reference for meals during a visit. Strains such as conger eel and hamo are not so common in Hokkaido. Ascidians are indeed from the Sanriku coast, and are shipped in in large numbers. In addition, herring are nowadays booming in Hokkaido for the first time in a long time, and our family continues to process about three of them every week. There are also a lot of flounder with the prefix ‘Oiran - meaning “oiran” or “flower courtesan”’. I was told that the Venus line on the abdomen is of unparalleled beauty and attracts the attention of men (laughs). Well, if you put it that way, you can see that she is quite good-looking, with a nice skin tone. I was also able to eat a piece of this flounder that had been boiled to perfection. It was quite a tasty gem, and I couldn't stand it. It was very tasty and made me want to drink more sake.
　At the get-together at the Towada venue on the second day, a local construction worker told us that he had been fishing for cherry salmon in the sea of the Tsugaru Strait last weekend and that it was already cold and he just kept bending over (gestures). I was completely filled with sympathy and listened to more and more stories about the local sea fish that kept coming out of their mouths. No, it was interesting.
　At the eight food centres, I saw many other rare fish species besides the one in this photo, and even spotted a squid pontoon. Then I looked for octopus pompi and asked the fishmonger about it, but it didn't seem to be well distributed in Hachinohe.
　However, I was deeply impressed by the differences and similarities between the fish species as an ‘inter-regional information exchange’. In particular, we were told that the herring caught in Rokkasho is regarded as ‘brand herring’ and highly prized in the country. Hmmm, I would like to try some. Or rather, I would like to try carefully processing them.
　Oh, they served not only fish but also ‘horse sashimi’, which I was grateful to be able to try for the first time in a long time. This is a food custom that you don't hear much about in Hokkaido. Food is a great topic. We can ‘understand each other’ at once.