Akami, chu-toro and o-toro 赤身・中トロ・大トロ

Also called otoro, chutoro, toro, maguro

The three main tuna cuts at a sushi counter. Akami is the lean red meat, chu-toro is medium fatty, and o-toro is the fattiest belly.

Akami comes from the inside of the fish, away from the belly. It is the leanest and reddest part, and a lot of sushi chefs judge a tuna by its akami.

Chu-toro sits between the two, with fat running through the meat. O-toro is the belly near the head, the fattiest and most expensive cut.

When a counter has good tuna, all three usually shine together. When one of them is off, the others tend to be off too.

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