Negitoro is a Japanese culinary classic. But is it just green onion and toro?
The truth is complicated.
This post will break down the history, ingredients, and variations of this iconic tuna-based food.
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This page is part of an informative sushi and sashimi guide. Definitely check it out if you want to take your sushi game pro.
What is Negitoro?
Negitoro is diced tuna with green onion. You’ll most often find it served as a sushi roll. The tuna is sourced from scraping near the bones and from scrap pieces.
Fatty bluefin belly (toro) is not required. It’s a popular misconception. The original name for negitoro was negitoru. This translates to scrape or chip away in Japanese. The name eventually evolved to negitoro.
Toro is almost always used to make this sushi classic in the US. But in Japan, it’s often a mix of tuna species. High-end versions will use bluefin or bigeye tuna. Albacore and yellowfin tuna mixed with oil is common in cheaper negitoro.
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History of the Negitoro
Negitoru was originally a donburi. It consists of green onions and minced tuna served over rice. And a sauce made of soy sauce, sake, mirin, dashi, and sugar is typically added.
Kintaro Sushi in Asakusa, Tokyo claims to have been the first to make a negitoro sushi roll. It was a special item for some time. And in 1964, they formally added it to the menu.
Kintaro is still serving sushi, by the way. It’s worth a pilgrimage, and you can check out Kappabashi while you’re in the area.
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The Negitoro Roll
The negitoro maki is the most popular style outside of Japan. There are a couple of ways you might find it prepared.
Hosomaki
Hosomaki are thin sushi rolls with nori seaweed on the outside. If you were to order a negitoro in the US, this is most likely how it would be served.
Negitoro Hand Roll
Temaki, or hand roll sushi, is another popular way to serve negitoro. It’s less formal but fun to eat. Usually, you’ll have to request a temaki or be gifted one by the chef.
Negitoro Gunkan
Gunkan means warship, as this spin-off of nigiri has the appearance of one. This style of sushi came about to hold soft or loose items over rice.
It’s an eye-catching way to serve negitoro. The tuna and green onion are showcased beautifully. And you can eat the whole thing in one bite.
Negitoro Donburi
Donburi-style was the original negitoro, and it’s still popular today in Japan. It consists of cooked rice with minced tuna and green onion on top. A sauce made of shoyu (soy sauce), mirin, sake, dashi, and sugar is commonly used.*
Negitoro donburi made with toro is not a given. It’s often a combination of lean bluefin (akami) and bigeye tuna. Budget-friendly versions use albacore and yellowfin. Oil is often added to these tunas to add richness.
Mayo and nori seaweed are also common ingredients.
*A 3:1 tsuyu to soy sauce mixture can be substituted.
Recommended Sake Pairings
Negitoro is oily, rich, and full of umami. It’s amazing when combined with sake.
Most styles and brands will work fine. I recommend avoiding overly sweet types like sparkling sake. Many nigori (cloudy) sake also fall into this group.
Fresh, earthy styles like kimoto and yamahai are awesome pairings with negitoro. Earthy grades like junmai and honjozo work really well. But so do fruity sake like junmai daiginjo and daiginjo.
It’s really hard to mess this pairing up!
Check out my top 40 sake brands post if you want to dive down this delicious rabbit hole. It’s a great educational resource, as well.
31 Days of Sushi
If you find this page useful or enjoyable, I suggest you check out some of the other content in my 31 Days of Sushi campaign. Every day in August I’ll share a new piece of content. Topics are centered around nigiri and maki sushi. I include sashimi info, as well.
Share Your Opinions!
Negitoro is super popular but often misunderstood. It’s one of my guilty pleasures. I use this term because bluefin species are struggling. If it were easier to get this roll (or donburi) made with albacore, I’d eat it much more often.
Just my two cents. What do you think about negitoro sushi?
Your comments are appreciated!