【やっぱり北海道の味、ホッケの開き】

　日本全国、海に囲まれた列島各地で「おいしいお魚」は各種ありますが、北海道でいちばん庶民的な味わいはやはりホッケにトドメを刺される。
　全国のほっけ漁獲量は、以下のように北海道が圧倒的なシェアを誇っています。
　 1位：北海道　32,799 (t)
2位：青森県　633 (t)
3位：山形県　218 (t)　〜データ引用：2019年 食品データ館
　高校まで北海道に居て大学から東京で暮らすようになって、どこをどう探しても「ホッケの開き」を買うことが出来なくて、つくづくと望郷の念に駆られたことがあります。わたしの場合、北海道で生きていきたいと考えたいちばんの理由かも知れない。・・・なワケはないのですが（笑）、しかし深層心理では、この魚の味覚へのこだわりは強いモノがある。
　のちに東京で就職して銀座に支店のあった北海道新聞と取引もしていたので、その社員の方に連れられて「銀座の北海道料理店」で会食したことがあります。季節もちょうど良かったので迷わず「ホッケの開き」一択で注文した。ところが出てきたヤツは、本当に「干からびて」いて、身まで固くて、深い涙とともにかじっていた。ダメだこりゃ、でありました。いまは物流も整備されて、銀座の一流店ではおいしいものも食べられるかも、ですがわたしはたぶん遠慮しそう（泣）。
　ここんところシーズンということで、安価で大ぶり（写真では分かりにくいかもですが、全長で35-40cmくらいはある）なので、食品店店頭でも、ひときわ目を引かされる。これくらいの大きさでも１枚300円内外。まことに庶民の大好物なのですね。
　ホッケの食べ方でいちばんウレシイのは、新鮮なアブラの乗ったヤツでは、シッポ側を掴んで真ん中の「骨」を一気にアタマ側まで引き剥がす瞬間。これが一気に行けるヤツは確実にウマい。
　数寄な方は、骨に絡まっていて皮のようになったヤツをしゃぶり食うのが楽しいともいわれる。当然、たくさんの小骨が抵抗してくるのですが、それに丹念に応えて、上手に剥がしていくのも醍醐味。そして、身の部分を取り上げて、たっぷりの大根おろしに漬けて頬張る。
　写真の１枚を夫婦で、口数すくなく黙々と平らげていく快感。
　ちょっと前までだったら、こういう大型でも１人で平らげていたと思うのですが、ダイエットにも取り組み続けているので、これで十分。でもアタマの硬い部分や、皮の部分もたのしく食べられる。いかにも「一物全体食」的に食べられるのであります。う〜む、また食うぞ！


English version⬇

Hokkaido's specialty, hokke (hokke).
Local fish for the masses. It is a local fish for the masses, and the harmony with plenty of grated daikon (Japanese radish) is outstanding. This is the biggest culprit that made me make a U-turn to Hokkaido (laugh). Laughs

　There are various kinds of "delicious fish" throughout Japan and throughout the archipelago surrounded by the sea, but the most common taste in Hokkaido is still topped by Hokke.
　Hokkaido boasts the overwhelming share of the nation's hokke catch, as shown below.
　 No. 1: Hokkaido 32,799 (t)
No. 2: Aomori Prefecture 633 (t)
No. 3: Yamagata Prefecture 218 (t) - Data citation: 2019 Food Data Center
　I lived in Hokkaido until high school, and then moved to Tokyo for college. I was very nostalgic because I could not buy hokke no matter where I looked. In my case, this may have been the main reason why I wanted to live in Hokkaido. I was not really a fish lover (laugh), but in my deepest psyche, I have a strong attachment to the taste of fish.
　Later, when I was working in Tokyo and doing business with the Hokkaido Shimbun, which had a branch in Ginza, one of its employees once took me to dinner at a "Hokkaido restaurant in Ginza. The season was just right, so I had no hesitation in ordering "hokke (hokke open fish)" as my first choice. However, the one that came out was really "dried out" and even the meat was hard, and I was gnawing on it with deep tears. It was a disaster. Now that the distribution system has been improved, you may be able to eat delicious food at first-class restaurants in Ginza, but I probably won't (I'm crying).
　Since it has been the season recently, they are inexpensive and large (the picture may not show it well, but the total length is about 35-40 cm), so they are very eye-catching even in food stores. Even at this size, each piece costs around 300 yen. It is truly a favorite food of the common people.
　The most exciting part of eating hokke is the moment when you grab the tail side of a fresh hokke with a lot of fat on it and pull off the center "bone" all the way to the head side at once. The ones that can do this all at once are surely good.
　For those who are a bit more adventurous, it is said that it is fun to suck and eat the skin-like pieces that have become entangled in the bone. Naturally, many small bones resist, but it is a real pleasure to carefully respond to them and skillfully peel them off. Then, the meat is taken away, marinated in a generous amount of grated daikon, and eaten.
　It was a pleasant sensation to eat the piece in the photo together with the couple, silently and without saying a word.
　Until recently, I would have finished a large piece like this by myself, but since I continue to work on my diet, this is enough for me. But I can also enjoy eating the hard part of the head and the skin. I can eat them in a "whole food" way. Hmmm... I will eat it again!