Kanpachi from Kagoshima — Fatty and Worth Torching
This week's standout is Kanpachi (カンパチ, Greater Amberjack) from Kagoshima Prefecture — farmed in the warm southern waters of Kagoshima Bay, where the fish feeds heavily in autumn and accumulates fat at a rate the leaner summer fish don't approach. This Kanpachi is noticeably fatty: the flesh has a richness that sits between lean white fish and the heavier marbling of Bluefin belly. It's a sweet, clean fat — not heavy — and it responds beautifully to heat.
For this fish specifically, the preparation that makes the most of it is skin-on torching. Keep the skin intact on your slice, place the fish skin-side up, and run a kitchen torch across the surface for five to eight seconds until the skin crisps and begins to color. The aroma that comes off a properly torched Kagoshima Kanpachi skin — nutty, slightly smoky, deeply savory — is one of the better things you can experience in a home kitchen with a piece of fish. Eat it immediately.
We now carry kitchen torches and gas cartridges at the storefront if you need to pick one up.
Weekly Fish Added to the Online Shop
Starting this week, we are adding the weekly fish to the online shop — so you can see what's available each week and order for delivery without calling or coming in to ask. The weekly items will rotate as they arrive; check the shop at the beginning of the week for the current lineup. Bluefin Tuna in all cuts is available as always.
Also available this week: Fujisan White Salmon, Kinmedai, and Ikura Shoyuzuke (being marinated now, available Friday).
Wine & Fish Pairing — Sold Out Again, More Coming in December
The November 18th Wine & Fish Pairing sessions sold out within thirty minutes. We hear you. December sessions are being planned — we will announce them through @keita_sashimi_dc and Rice Market's channels. There will also be a cocktail event in December where we contribute fish snacks — details to follow.
Kanpachi vs Bluefin for first-time buyers: If you're new to premium Japanese fish and unsure where to start, Kanpachi is often the more immediately accessible entry point — the flavor is clean and approachable, the texture is firm, and it's harder to overcut than the fattier Bluefin cuts. Once you've tasted it, Bluefin Tuna makes immediate sense as a step further.