Surprisingly, toro is not widely consumed outside of Japan, although it is sometimes available in Japanese specialty restaurants on the coasts of the United States and parts of Europe. Toro plays a delicious role in Japanese cuisine in Japan, and the majority of bluefin tuna caught in the world ends up in Japan`s fish markets, where Toro and the rest of the fish will sell for a higher price among connoisseurs. Akami (ah-kah-me) is the lean meat on the sides of the fish. If you ask for “maguro” in a restaurant or order any type of tuna bread or sushi without asking for a “toro”, you will get this cup. During the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600), stone lanterns were used by tea masters as garden decorations. New types were developed according to the needs of their owners. In modern Japanese gardens, toro still have a decorative function and are placed on bright paths, near water basins or near a building. Otoro (oh-toh-raw), sometimes called o-toro, is the fattest part of tuna, located on the underside of the belly of the fish. This cut is greasy almost to the point of rot and can literally melt on the tongue. Toro comes from the lower abdomen of tuna and is itself divided into classes that differ according to the marbling of the meat, similar to the classification of beef.
The most valuable toro, otoro, is located from the bottom of the fish near the head. Chutoro, a lower degree, comes from the belly in the middle and back of the fish and is less mottled than otoro. The Toro part is the dividend of O-toro and Chu-toro. O-Toro is the fatty part of the Toro part and is the anterior part of the stomach. Chu-toro is another part in the toro part and is the back part of the stomach. The body of tuna, with the exception of the toro part, is called “akami”, which means red meat because the toro part is reddish pink. O-toro is the tuna champion for the Japanese. In fact, O-toro plays the sumo champion named Yokozuna in the animation “Sushi Sumo”. Maguro (mah-goo-raw) or hon-maguro (meaning “real tuna” or “true tuna”) is the Japanese term for bluefin tuna, perhaps the most famous and commonly consumed fish in all sushi restaurants, especially the famous sushi toro. Used in many roles, but often seen alone, what is now the old stand-by hasn`t always been the most popular item on the menu. While tuna is currently in incredible demand, until the 1970s it was a sport fish commonly known as “horse mackerel,” sold or discarded to cat food companies.
Now, its fatty belly meat, known as “toro sushi,” is one of the most expensive dishes on the menu, prized for its taste, texture and conciseness. The name “horse mackerel” is now used for fish called “aji” (or horse mackerel) because, for marketing reasons, seafood suppliers did not want the strong taste of mackerel associated with the much less fatty bluefin tuna and fishy taste. Tuna has come a long way, from a fish that the samurai considered unclean and did not eat to one of the most popular fish in Japan and the world, especially the coveted fatty parts of the fish served as toro sushi. Looks like it`s a real shame that Toro isn`t eaten much outside of Japan. Looks like it`s delicious. Borrowed from English torus, French torus, German torus, Italian toro, Russian торус (torus), finally from Latin torus. By the way, in Japan there are “Toro-salmon”, “Toro-katsuo” and “Ton-toro”. They are not tuna.
Toro salmon means fat salmon, Toro-katsuo means fat bonito. Ton-Toro is not fish, but pork. It is pork cheek meat and is often eaten while grilling. They have Toro names because they are juicy like tuna Toro. Toro, a fatty part of tuna, is very popular in Japan. The origin of Toro is that it melts into the mouse, according to the sushi encyclopedia of Yoshino Masuo (Motoo Noguchi), a sushi researcher. “Torori” is a Japanese onomatopoeia when something melts. This part was called “Abu” before Toro gained a foothold among the Japanese. Abu was a short form of “Aburami,” which means fat. The distinctive and delicious taste of Toro appeals to most consumers as soon as they try it. The fresh, fleshy texture of raw tuna combines with belly fat to create a buttery feeling in your mouth, with the flesh of the tuna melting when you eat it.
Toro is often used in sushi sashimi and nigiri, as the delicate taste, excellent texture and beautiful marbling clearly stand out in these two raw fish dishes. It is also sometimes used to make fried rare tuna, which has a delicious hot grilled exterior and a fresh, creamy interior. Toro` is fish meat cut from a specific part of tuna and used as an ingredient for sushi, etc. It refers to tuna meat cut from the ventral part and contains a lot of fat. The word “toro” is derived from the texture of tuna meat melting in the mouth (“toro-ri”). Before the introduction of the word “toro”, the meat in question was called “abu” because of its fatty quality (“abura-mi”). In ancient times, especially before the Edo period, tuna meat was represented by lean meat, while toro, which becomes acidic faster than lean meat, was considered an insignificant material and thrown into a pot of tuna and green onion meat (negima hub) or, if applicable, tasted as heated meat. It was said that even cats avoided Toro. Today, however, due to the wide acceptance of animal fat as a delicious food and improved preservation and transportation technologies, fresh and delicious Toro has become available, and people consider Toro a luxury food.