On the evening of September 4, at the Hanoi Sheraton Hotel, chef Nguyen Minh Hai performed the ritual of cutting a whole 60kg bluefin tuna in front of diners. The fish was bought on the same day in Japan for about 75 million VND, and then quickly brought back to Vietnam by air.
At the event, chef Nguyen Minh Hai started processing the fish with specialized knives handcrafted in Japan. The fins, tail, hard skin and head were separated before the fish body was split into four parts.
The fish meat is then divided into three main parts including otoro, chutoro and akami. Otoro is located in the abdomen, has high fat content and is considered the most valuable part; chutoro has moderate fat content, while akami is the lean meat around the central bone, which is dark red in color.
Bluefin tuna is known as the "fin tuna king", highly appreciated in Japanese cuisine. After being auctioned, the 60 kg fish is pre-processed, packaged in specialized insulated containers and preserved with ice or dry ice to maintain the appropriate temperature. The shipment is then brought to the airport, completed inspection procedures, exported and loaded onto the plane.
Direct flight time from Japan to Vietnam is about 5-6.5 hours. Thus, the total journey from the auction to when the fish is cleared in Hanoi takes about 12 hours, including preliminary processing, packaging, transportation and procedures.
After landing, the fish is processed for import, necessary inspection and then transferred to refrigerated storage to be brought to the hotel. Temperature control and shortening of transportation time are aimed at maintaining meat quality, especially when the fish is used to process sashimi.
From a fish auctioned in Japan, after a journey of about 12 hours by air, a 60kg bluefin tuna appeared on the Hanoi banquet table, becoming a highlight of the event introducing Japanese culinary culture.
Chef Minh Hai has many years of attachment to Japanese cuisine. From 1998 to 2012, he held the position of head chef of the Sushiba Japanese restaurant system in Saigon. In 2012, he was introduced as one of the Vietnamese chefs specializing in Japanese cuisine.
Chef Nguyen Minh Hai once directly butchered a 320kg tuna in Phu Yen, which was recognized as a record for large tuna butchering in Vietnam. Experience in handling large-sized fish helped him proficiently perform the fish butchering ritual at this event.
