Fish
Smelt (shishamo)
Shishamo are delicious little smelts which are usually grilled or fried and eaten whole. The taste and texture range is dynamic with the crunchy peaks of joyous bones precipitously giving way to the deep buttery delights of roe with addictive twists in between . Wikipedia claims the name is derived from the Ainu name for […]
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Pacific saury (sanma)
It’s amusing that these beauties are often exported to the U.K. Where they are used as fishing bait. They are revered in Japan as a delicious entry into autumn and have many festivals celebrating the start of the season such as this one in Tokyo I visited.http://www.gotokyo.org/en/kanko/meguro/event/meguro_sunma.html Thousands visited the Meguro sanma matsuri with eager […]
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Sea eel /conger eel (anago)
Sea eel, unlike its fatty, rich tasting freshwater brother Unagi, anago is very lean with a delicate mineral flutter and engaging textural contrast which varies by cut. It is tasty done in the usual simmered sushi style but in that case i will always go for the juicy unagi instead. If you can get it […]
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Japanese Horse mackerel (Aji)
My local fishmonger recommended these Japanese horse mackerel from real close-by around Miura peninsula and when this old boy makes a recommendation, you listen and engage immediately. If you are buying fish anywhere in the world, just like you would with meat and your butcher(and hopefully one day vegetable farmer at the produce section […]
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At this time of year during the wet transition from spring into summer, you will have sardines available from your supplier or supermarket. They are even called Tsuyu(rain season)Iwashi as they are extremely tasty at this time of year and also through the end of summer. As one of the most exploited fish in the […]
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