What is Izumidai Sashimi Difference with Red Snapper Sashimi?

You might wonder what is izumidai sashimi, as you often see it at the sashimi restaurant menu that you visit in your neighborhood. Actually it is a type of sashimi which made using izumidai which is also known as tilapia in English. The izumidai is not red snapper even though some restaurant might translate them incorrectly. The reason might be because both fishes have the same white color meat which makes it appear similar at first glance. But actually those are two different fishes and the taste is also different so they should not be used to replace one another.

What is Izumidai Sashimi Taste Like?

Another reason why people often miss transtate the izumi dai into red snapper is because the word dai or also often written as tai in the original noun form is also translate as snapper. However, the snapper is different fish group from the tilapia even though some people like to call this fish as the poor snapper. The reason is because the red snapper is the most expensive type of snapper among all kind of snapper. It is also called as the king of the fishes thus it is a great delicacy that you should really try if you have a chance to do so. Especially since it is said that eating this red snapper fish will give you good luck, thus you might want to try and eating it to gain better luck throughout the year. This might be the reason why red snapper sashimi is most popular type of sashimi that you can ever taste.

Sadly most restaurants in America that serve red snapper sashimi are usually using izumi dai sashimi instead. As we mention before izumi dai is not red snapper but it is tilapia instead. Another thing that might make this possible because the appearance that both of these fishes have are actually very similar to one another. Especially if you have never taste any of those fishes beforehand then you might wondering what is izumidai sashimi looks like which make it similar to red snapper sashimi. But if you already know more information about both fishes, then you will actually able to notice that both fishes are different. Thus they should not miss translate those sushi as they are not made using the same type of fish.

The thing is there are various tilapia fish that is also used to make the izumi dai sashimi. The one that should be used to make the izumi dai sashimi is tilapia that is grow in sea water or even brackish water instead. This type of tilapia then dub as the sushi grade tilapia or the sashimi grade tilapia. Of course, because this type of tilapia has higher grade it is rather pricy compared to the ordinary tilapia that you often see in the market. Sadly this is often taken advantaged by restaurant that only uses ordinary tilapia instead of one that has sashimi grade.

The ordinary tilapia is usually farm raised fish that is growing in fresh water. Because of this they have different taste compared to the sashimi grade tilapia. Then what is izumidai sashimi special about? The sashimi grade tilapia has different taste compared to the ordinary tilapia. They have the ocean fish taste that the ordinary tilapia does not have as they are only growing in fresh water environment. But because they are easier to raise in fresh water environment, then the ordinary tilapia can be sold in cheaper price compared to the sashimi grade tilapia.

The sashimi grade tilapia is the one that is used to make sashimi by the Japanese. This type of tilapia has different taste and texture which surely better compared to the ordinary tilapia that you often see in the market in America. This is might be the reason why the price of sashimi grade tilapia is higher than the ordinary tilapia that often used by sashimi restaurant in America. However, the sashimi grade tilapia itself is still cheaper compared to the sashimi grade red snapper. This is another reason why some people often replace the red snapper meat in the menu with tilapia even though they still called it izumi dai sashimi.

Then what is izumidai sashimi similarity with red snapper sashimi? Actually the reason why they can replace the red snapper meat in the menu with the tilapia meat is because both have similar white color. Moreover both meats have mild taste which is not as strong as other sashimi meat that you often consume. Thus if you want to know the difference then you should see on the texture of the meat to know that both are different.

First of all the texture of tilapia meat is moderate which is different from the one that red snapper has which is more turgid. But because of this, if you are new to sashimi or never taste one before. Then it might be better to try to eat izumi dai sashimi instead as it is easier for a first timer. Another difference is on the fat content as the tilapia is considered to be very lean type of fish thus it does not have a lot of fat in the meat. However, the red snapper has more fat content which is why this meat is considered to be delicacy as the fat make the taste even more delicious. And the fat content is what people looking for when they eat the red snapper sashimi which also called as Tai or ma dai sashimi in the original name.

Because of the original name, you can differentiate the izumi dai sashimi which is made using tilapia fish to the Tai or ma dai sashimi which made using red snapper meat. So next time you read a menu, you should see whether they name the dish as izumi dai sashimi or the Tai or ma dai sashimi instead. Now that you already know what is izumidai sashimi all about and the difference with Tai or ma dai sashimi. Then you will be able to know what you eat in the restaurant.