Gyoniku Sausage: Classic Japanese Fish Sausage

Sausage is made typically using pork and beef. But in Japan, there is one whose main ingredient is fish.

Gyoniku Sausage (魚肉ソーセージ)

The Japanese sausage is generally called “Gyoniku Sausage (魚肉ソーセージ)” or literally “Fish Sausage” as the word “Gyoniku (魚肉)” means “fish meat” in Japanese. It was first created in 1949 and afterward popularized.

Gyoniku Sausage is made from 50 to 60 percent of ground surimi fish paste, typically from walleye pollack or Alaska pollock, mixed with lard, seasonings, and spices. The mixture is packed in a plastic casing and heated.

O-Sakana Sausage 

Gyoniku Sausage is also known as Sakana or Osakana Sausage, and the pictured fish sausage from Nissui has the name “Osakana Sausage (おさかなソーセージ)”.

As you may know, while “Sakana (さかな, 魚)” means “fish” in Japanese, the word “O (お)” in “Osakana (おさかな)” is the prefix for making a polite expression.

The product from Nissui contains a long, thick fish sausage packed in an orange-colored plastic casing. By tearing a notch, you can easily cut open the packaging.

At first glance, the sausage inside looks like a Vienna sausage, but its main ingredient is fish.

Ingredients 

In fact, as you can see in the ingredient list above, the first ingredient of this sausage is fish.

Other ingredients include wheat protein paste, starch, soybean protein powder, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, brewed vinegar, onion extract, spices, bonito extract, yeast extract, amino acid seasoning, bone calcium, and colors (Cape jasmine, tomato lycopene).

Taste

As for the taste, Gyoniku Sausage isn’t fishy at all and is easy to eat. If you didn’t know what it is, you might think it is a pork sausage.

However, Japanese fish sausage usually has a softer and smoother texture than pork sausages.

How to Eat

As a snack, Gyoniku Sausage is eaten as it is or after baking. As an ingredient, the fish sausage is often used in fried vegetables or with bread. 

Where to Buy

Gyoniku Sausage is one of the most common and loved sausages in Japan. So the fish sausage is available in most supermarkets and convenience stores around the country.

What is better, despite its deliciousness, Japanese fish sausage is generally inexpensive compared to pork sausages.

(Reference Page: Wikipedia 魚肉ソーセージ )