Stephanolepis cirrhifer
ingredient / ingredient-kawahagi-liver
肝（きも）
Stephanolepis cirrhifer is the liver of kawahagi (Stephanolepis cirrhifer). It is used for liver soy sauce served with sashimi, liver-ae and liver tataki mixed with the flesh, and other preparations. If the gallbladder ("bitter ball") is damaged during removal, bitterness is described as transferring to the liver and flesh.
Photographs (captions in Japanese)
A skinned kawahagi (filefish) and its liver taken out on a cutting board
Shown: Kawahagi (filefish) (as written in the source; the scientific name Stephanolepis cirrhifer is as given in entities.csv)Part / state: The removed liver (a pale pink mass on the right) and the skinned fish body (on the left) lined up on a cutting board
Photo: Rakurakuda / CC BY-SA 4.0 / original image / ledger's original image
Scope and provenance of the photo
Identification: Identified as labelled in the source. The description clearly states "kawahagi liver 2018.10.15 Takasaki fishing port", own work. The liver is shown separated from the fish body, so the part is clearly identified. I opened the image and confirmed. On the left of the cutting board is a skinned fish body (with the kawahagi body shape, characterized by yellow eyes and a black tail fin area), and on the right a separately removed liver
Image shown: The original from Wikimedia Commons, reduced to 2400 px on the long side. No cropping or color changes. For display, a WebP capped at 1200 px wide is served; the ledger's original image can be checked from the link above.
On this page (9 sections)
Reading the bitterness
An article by TSURINEWS, operated by a fishing guide in Kumamoto, explains that when kawahagi is filleted, there is a yellow 「苦玉」 (in translation: "bitter ball") close to the liver, corresponding to the fish gallbladder, and another reddish-brown 「苦玉」 (in translation: "bitter ball") immediately beside it. If these are ruptured, bitterness transfers to the flesh around the head and to the liver, making them unpalatable. The biological plausibility of the statement that there are two gallbladders cannot be judged from this article alone.
Meanwhile, the privately operated Market Fish and Shellfish Encyclopedia describes kawahagi as 「肝の味の良さは随一」 (in translation: "the flavor of the liver is unsurpassed") and introduces several ways to eat it, including dissolving the liver into soy sauce and eating it with sashimi, mixing vinegar miso with the liver, and mixing it with the flesh to make liver tataki; this description contains no mention of bitterness. It suggests that, if the 「苦玉」 (in translation: "bitter ball") can be carefully removed without leaving it behind, the liver is discussed as an ingredient with a rich flavor rather than bitterness.
According to an introduction by the Tokyo Metropolitan Islands Area Research and Extension Center for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the liver of kawahagi becomes especially enlarged in winter. Among the preparation methods listed is 「肝和え」 (kimo-ae), in which sashimi is dressed with the ground liver. Neither measured liver-weight values by season nor the quantities used in the dish are given.
Sources for this overview
カワハギの捌き方と肝（キモ）の摘出方法 2つある『苦玉』に要注意
Checked for this overview: Used the explanation of bitterness transfer when the bitter ball is damaged as the basis for this paragraph.
Checked for this overview: Used the encyclopedia description, which contains no mention of bitterness, as the basis for this paragraph.
Checked for this overview: Used for the introduction that the liver enlarges in winter, for kimo-ae, and for the qualification that no season-by-season measured values or quantities are given.
Other names: 苦玉 (ja, identification low)
Follow the connections
Thamnaconus modestus →differs from→ Stephanolepis cirrhifer
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Composition and content (1)
Scope: Species classification
Note: The scientific names were confirmed in descriptions on multiple aquarium and encyclopedia websites, but primary sources of fish taxonomy, such as original description papers, were not traced.
Show data
ingredient-umazurahagi-liver —differs_from→ ingredient-kawahagi-liverSensory (2)
Scope: A TSURINEWS article (July 20, 2022, by Masaki Matsuda, a fishing guide in Kumamoto and operator of 「藤まる食堂」 [Fujimaru Shokudo])
Note: An article from a personally run fishing-information outlet, without academic verification. The description of 2 「苦玉」 existing is recorded as written in the source, but its biological validity (consistency with the fact that fish normally have 1 gallbladder) cannot be judged from this source.
Show data
ingredient-kawahagi-liver —has_perceived_bitterness_associated_with→ (the claim sentence above)Scope: The "kawahagi" entry in the Market Fish and Shellfish Encyclopedia
Note: A privately run seafood encyclopedia (operated by Bouzu Konnyaku Co., Ltd.). Properly prepared liver is described not as bitter but as rich in flavor.
Show data
ingredient-kawahagi-liver —has_sensory_attribute→ (the claim sentence above)How processing and cooking change it (1)
Scope: The seasonal and preparation record on the Tokyo Metropolitan kawahagi introduction page
Note: Not material that measured liver weight by season, and it gives no quantities or steps. The page's spelling of the scientific name differs from the canonical spelling.
Show data
ingredient-kawahagi-liver —is_prepared_by→ (the claim sentence above)