What is the sushi term Tenchi?
Let’s take a closer look at “Tenchi,” an industry term used by sushi restaurants.
Tenchi is the head and tail of a fish that is used for sushi
“Tench” refers to the head and tail parts of a fish that are used as sushi ingredients. The origin of the word is thought to be from the words ten (sky) and chi (earth), which represent up and down. This word is not often used in fish markets, and is unique to sushi restaurants. The head and tail are mostly used in soups and grilled dishes, and are considered to be of low importance as ingredients at sushi restaurants.
Expression methods other than Tench
“Ara” is also a generic term for the parts of the fish that are left over after grating the fish other than the flesh that is used for sushi, such as the head and bones of the fish. There are a variety of dishes that use fish fillet, such as fish fillet soup, hotpot, miso soup, simmered fish fillet, and kamayaki. There are many ways to use it, such as putting it in a pot with the meat and using it as a soup stock, or boiling it with soy sauce or sugar to make it sweet and spicy.
In addition, there is also “nakaochi”, which refers to the part of the fish that remains between the bones when the fish is cut down. If you cut the whole fish into three pieces, it will stick between the bones and be impossible to remove. This part is as delicious as the meat itself, and is used at sushi restaurants as gunkanmaki and nakaochidon.
