Toro (sushi)

Toro (Japanese: トロ; translating to "melting") is the fatty meat of tuna^[1][2][3] served as sushi^[4] or sashimi. It is usually cut from the belly or outer layers of the Pacific bluefin tuna (the other fish known for similar meat is bigeye tuna).^[5] The etymology of the name comes from the fact that the meat has a creamy texture. According to the "Sushi: The Complete Guide" (liberal translation of 鮓・鮨・すし-すしの事典) by Masuo Yosino, a customer at the Yoshino Sushi Honten named it as toro melts in your mouth. ^[1]

Toro

Alternative names	fatty tuna
Type	Fish
Place of origin	Japan
Region or state	Japan
Associated cuisine	Toro sushi, Toro sashimi
Created by	a customer at the Yoshino Sushi Honten
Main ingredients	Toro

Popularity of Toro in the past and now

Before the Edo period in Japan, tuna was the lean meat, the fatty part which deteriorated easily than the lean meat, was not considered a premium part. It is called "neko-matagiri", and considered as the low-value ingredient, even the cat can step over it, so it was always thrown away."^[6]

Japanese prefer that the white meat taste refreshing, the fat of fatty tuna is high and not for water-absorbing easily. Therefore, it cannot be kept by marinating in soy sauce like lean fish. Nowadays, fatty tuna is more prevalent as the improvement of frozen, refrigerated or transportation techniques and the deliciousness of animal fat has become widespread, its price also sharply increased in modern times, around twice the price of lean meat.

Types of Toro

Toro is subdivided into two grades:^[7]

• Ōtoro (大トロ; "big toro") – very fatty cut from the belly area just behind the head, tender and rich; expensive and usually served on special occasions;^[4]
• Chūtoro (中トロ; "medium toro") – less fatty cut made from the areas closer to the tail; the fat content in the case of bigeye reaches 25%.^[5]

• 
  Ōtoro (very fatty toro)
• 
  Chūtoro (medium fatty toro)
• 
  Akami (lean tuna)

The meat from the inner layers of the fish, called akami (赤身),^[1] is more reddish and has less fat (with 14% fat in bigeye).^[5]

Production of Toro

Toro from wild tuna is a seasonal product: winter tuna is considered to be better, summer one is less fatty.^[8]

Except for the tuna fish, other fatty fish can be called "toro". For instance:

1. the fatty part of skipjack tuna sashi.
2. In Hokkaido, the local rice bowl is called "Nama Gyudon”, which uses raw beef.
3. A pork which called "Pork buri"

There is no exact boundary for "toro" to define the type of the meat. It is used as the sales strategy, using the image of toro is luxury. Except for tuna, other fatty fishes can be called toro too.

In addition, the sauce, which is made by the belly and the fat of tuna, is called “Negitoro”. Most people think that its name came from its oily texture, but there are another version.