Saké Steamed Asari Clams
The seafood in winter is rich with fat as the fish protects itself from the cold waters. Some sashimi eaten this time of year will be a bit oily as a result. As always, we love to have most seafood as sashimi when possible, like buri, sawara, hirame and hotate. Shinji in particular has a soft spot for kanburi or winter buri from Himi port in Toyama. He loves it as sashimi but it is also good as teriyakior in the classic dish buri daikon – simmered with daikon in a slightly sweet soy broth. Kinmedai is also lovely when simmered in a soy broth as nitsuke.
Shijimi, little tiny clams, are ideal in miso soup. Asari can be steamed in saké or served with pasta as vongolé. And, of course, if you can get your hands on any of the crab this time of year, indulge!
Aozakana, literally blue fish, are the fishy fish in the mackerel family like sabaand sawara. Sawara can be marinated in a sweet Saikyo miso and grilled, the miso helps to cover some of the intense fish flavor. Saba is nice simmered in miso in a traditional dish preparation called misoni. Shime saba is the term for sabathat has been marinated in a sweet rice vinegar, essentially pickling it. Finally, each January we usually have ankou nabe, a hot pot of monkfish. We save the liver to prepare it as ankimo, often called “foie gras of the sea”. It is simple to prepare, see the recipe here.
Hokkaido Magaki Oyster
Buri鰤Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata)
Buri 101 - Everything you need to know about yellowtail
Buri 101 - Everything you need to know about yellowtail
Itoyoridai 糸縒鯛 golden threadfin-bream (Nemipterus virgatus)
Kanburi 寒鰤 winter Japanese amberjack (see buri) (Seriola quinqueradiata)
* The port of Himi in Toyama is famous for its kanburi.
Madara or tara真鱈 Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus)
Oma honmaguro 大間鮪bluefin tuna from Oma in Aomori (see honmaguro)
