Tsukiji Wonderland Page #2

---

I bid on these lots today.

Look how meaty they are.

One of a kind.

I'll sell them.

All the good fish

comes to Tsukiji-.

For me Tsukiji is a battlefield.

It's a battle between dealers

and shoppers.

I have to keep fighting

for good fish-.

If you do well, the wholesalers treat

you as an equal.

Don't order from the harvesters.

See it yourself and then decide.

Don't order from the harvesters.

See it yourself and then decide.

Ren Redzepi

noma

- Great.

- From Oita.

That's small.

But it's lively.

Tsukiji is great. We'd have

no business without it.

I started accompanying him to

Tsukiji early on.

I thought all the stalls

looked the same.

The market's so huge

you can get lost easily.

But he wouldn't wait for

his apprentices.

I thought if I got lost

I'd never find my way out.

I had to run after him,

carrying his bags.

The aisles are like a maze so it's

hard to keep up.

In western Japan, chefs are

like department stores in a way.

They diversify.

Their style is to employ various

techniques to serve variety of dishes-.

Variety is their style.

Whereas Tokyo chefs specialize,

like a sushi bar only serves sushi.

A tempura chef improves his tempura

over decades.

Tokyo chefs regard themselves

more as a craftsman than a cook.

That artisan culture has its roots

in Tsukiji.

To excel at their craft

they expect to work with

the best ingredients-.

See how it's not slimy?

It'll stay that way when it's cooked.

I'm meticulous with my craft-

I have to be.

I first visited Tsukiji when I was 30.

It's been 40 years.

I enter from here.

We've known the conger eel vendor

the longest.

From before the war.

The wholesaler is 3rd generation.

And I'm the second.

Can I see?

You chose the same sized eels for me.

Thank you.

He picks the best eel out of 30 or 40.

Sometimes he chooses the best

out of 5O for me.

Only they can do that.

Every eel has a different face.

Like people, there are faces you like.

I pick fatter small faces

Face size isn't everything.

This one's noticeably thicker and

its small face is a marker.

I don't weigh them.

I can just tell.

Kizushi"

They take time to choose eels for me

and I complain if

I'm not satisfied!

I have about 8 wholesalers

I buy from.

I want a smaller one.

Each stall has a specialty.

Live fish, shellfish and so on.

I visit certain stalls

because I like the vendor.

You can't go to a supermarket.

I seek out the experts who work

at Tsukiji.

Always.

Tsukiji's amazing.

You know Kaiko Bridge?

You cross it and anything can happen.

A wholesaler once told me

It's ruthless here-

If you're tricked, it's your fault-

In the old days there were more

know-it-all customers.

They went around choosing fish.

They claimed to know a good fish

when they saw one.

Bull.

You need wholesalers to choose

fish for you at auctions.

It's not easy.

We're lucky today. There were so many

abalones to choose from.

I like to choose myself-.

And I need the wholesalers to

help me do that.

When I deal with chefs

who demand the best

I need to work hard

or else they go elsewhere.

With the added push from a client

we all improve.

I'm tense every day. I feel sick if

bad weather affects the catch.

If I have an order of 50 gizzard shads

to fill but there's no fish

I go home sick and

come back the next day in a panic.

It's all worth it though.

If I pull it off

they'll come back for more.

They deal in fish but it's

also about interaction.

You go back for that.

This is wonderful!

I bet.

- That fish was great.

- The best so far this year.

I buy fish every day.

So a good wholesaler

affects my life tremendously.

I want this every time!

The wholesalers I deal with

call me at midnight!

Just when I'm closing up

they call

and say they've secured

good fish for me.

They've already started at midnight.

I come before II PM and

check the orders for the next day.

Takashi Shiobara

Intermediate Wholesaler

Takashi Shiobara

Intermediate Wholesaler

Mackerel is tricky so

I check each one of them well.

To assess the quality.

Is it fatty?

How fatty?

Slim ones can be fatty.

And thick ones can be unfatty.

The best way to know is by touch-.

Clients have preferences.

The colors of the meat they like

or the firmness.

Say you want a good mackerel

with tender meat.

If you're lucky you'd get a few

out of a box of 20.

What does a good wholesaler do?

He sorts the fish first thing in the

morning and hides the good fish.

Half beaks are from lbaraki.

I have some mackerels.

Some good line-caught mackerels

arrived from Katsuura sea.

They're perfect for sushi.

Maybe even too tender.

I may think some fish are really good.

But it's up to the customers to decide

what is good for them.

If you resent that, you should just quit.

Give it a try!

Feel them. The skin is tender.

My customers determine my fate.

If they do good business, they'll

order more. It's a cycle.

We go up and down together.

We're inseparable.

I owe my business to my customers.

It's not my good fish that draws them,

it's them who bring me fish.

- Got mackerels?

- Sure.

- How many?

- As many as you want.

It might snow tomorrow.

Intermediate wholesalers make a lot

of effort in bad weather.

Takashi Saito

Sushi Saito

I have yellowtails

ready for you.

They tell you straight when

there's no fish.

But they go to enormous lengths to

get fish for me-.

They care.

They've saved me many times.

- Flounders.

- You saved some?

They look good, huh?

- From Kamogawa.

- The color difference won't matter.

They charge us for it but I'm happy

they take care of us.

They know their regular

customers' needs.

So we keep coming back.

If they get me fish I don't need,

I still buy it.

We rely on them and consequently

they act on our behalf.

Our relationships are more important

than our craft or the fish.

They nurture our craft.

It's part of the tradition

of Japanese cuisine.

Trust is what keeps Tsukiji going.

Sam)"

This is great.

It responds to the salt.

It still has energy-.

The cells are still alive.

Salt removes the excess water

and brings out the sweetness.

Like any restaurant owner I don't

compromise on quality.

Small compromises lead to bigger

ones down the line-.

We serve flounder as

the first piece.

To let customer savor the

quality of our rice.

I like fish with volume.

The seller cut

its spinal cord.

So we can decide when to serve it.

Severing the spinal cord prevents

the fish from getting stiff.

It delays rigor mortis.

So the fish stays fresher for longer.

Koji Nakanishi

Intermediate Wholesaler

If you don't do it, the fish

flaps around before it gets stiff.

It's bad if it bleeds inside.

They cut the spinal cord.

It runs right by the spine.

They crush it to

immobilize the fish.

So it won't move around, bleed

and get ruined.

So it won't move around, bleed

and get ruined.

No cooking technique can save

a ruined fish.

In the old days quick transport

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes