Tachiuo Maki (Spiral-Grilled Cutlassfish on Bamboo)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 60 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Tachiuo maki is a grilled fish specialty of Uwajima in Ehime.
Read more
Long cutlassfish fillets are wound in a spiral around bamboo sticks and turned over charcoal while a sauce of soy, sugar, sake, and ginger juice is brushed on repeatedly. Two fish are cleaned into four long strips, checked carefully for bones, and wrapped tightly, one per stick. Continuous rotation over medium charcoal cooks the curved surface evenly; each thin application of sauce dries before the next, building a glossy brown coating without burning the sugar. Mirin is brushed on only near the end for a final shine after the fish is cooked through. A long-established Uwajima fishmonger is said to have devised the preparation in 1987. Because the wrapping and rotating require considerable work, it is more often encountered at local restaurants, izakaya, and fish-paste shops than as a home dish. The fish is slid off the hot bamboo before eating.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Heat
Wash the culinary bamboo sticks thoroughly and soak them in the measured water.
Let the sections exposed to heat absorb water so the bamboo is less likely to scorch quickly during grilling.
- 2Prep
Remove the cutlassfish heads and innards and fillet them while preserving their length.
Trim the main bones and fin edges, feel along the flesh for pin bones, and divide into four long strips.
- 3Finish
Mix the soy sauce, sugar, sake, and ginger juice in a bowl until the sugar dissolves to make the brushing sauce.
Reserve the mirin separately for the final glaze.
- 4Step
Wipe excess water from the bamboo and wind one fish strip tightly in a spiral from the lower end.
Overlap the edges slightly and secure one strip around each of the four sticks.
- 5Season
Grill the sticks over medium charcoal, rotating continuously.
When the fish surface begins to turn opaque, brush on a thin layer of sauce and repeat whenever the surface dries. Keep direct flames away so the sugar does not burn.
- 6Finish
When the fish is opaque through the center and reaches at least 63°C, brush lightly with mirin and rotate once more for a brief final grilling. Rest shortly, hold the hot bamboo with a cloth, slide off the fish, and serve on four plates.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Long boneless cutlassfish strips are wound tightly in spirals around bamboo sticks.
- Finish cue
- When the fish is opaque through the center and reaches at least 63°C, brush lightly with mirin and rotate once more for a brief final grilling.
- Avoid this
- Trim the fish strips to an even width and overlap their edges slightly so they do not loosen while rotating and cook evenly to the center.
- Substitution
- Rotate continuously over medium charcoal and brush several thin layers instead of pouring on a heavy coating.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official food safety guidance.
This recipe
60min, 8 ingredients
Category median
30min, 8 ingredients
Based on 194 recipes
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