November Seasonal Japanese Seafood

November Seasonal Japanese Seafood

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Autumn is a great time for Japanese seafood as a lot of the fish are rich with fat. This time of year we love sanma, both as sashimi, or simply salted and grilled. Katsuo done tataki-style, seared on the outside and rare on the inside, calls out for some shochu or nihonshu. And when it gets really cold, Shinji loves kanburi, or the winter buri (Japanese amberjack) rich with fat and as sashimi. 

This list of November seafood is short as I don't have a lot of time at the moment, but I do hope to update it later this month along with links to photo of the seafood.

Akagarei - flathead flounder (Hippoglossoides dubius)

Ara – rock cod (Nuphon spinosus)

Buri – Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata)

Chidai – crimson sea bream (Evynnis japonica)

Ginsake – coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

Hamadai – ruby snapper (Etelis coruscans)

Hokke – arabesque greenling (Pleurogrammus azonus)

Katsuo – bonito or skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis)

Kawahagi – thread-sail filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer)

Kurigani – helmet crab (Telmessus cheiragonus)

Medai – Japanese butterfish (Hyperoglyphe japonica)

Mishima Okoze – Japanese stargazer (Uranoscopus japonicus)

Mizudako – North Pacific giant octopus (Octopus dofleini)

Sanma – Pacific saury (Cololabis saira)

Shishamo – Japanese longfin smelt (Spirinchus lanceolatus)

Yanaginomai – yellow-body rockfish (Sebastes steindachneri)

Saikyo Miso Marinated Gindara 西京漬け銀ダラ

Saikyo Miso Marinated Gindara 西京漬け銀ダラ

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Saikyo miso marinated gindara (black cod) grilled until just cooked. The miso enhances the fish with a sweet aroma and the fatty fish renders tender when grilled.

Grilled Nishin (Herring) にしん塩焼き

Grilled Nishin (Herring) にしん塩焼き

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Nishin (herring) is a very fishy fish. The meat is very watery and filled with many bones. It is a lot of work to eat, but rewarding if you like hikarimono (silvery skinned fish). This is sprinkled with salt and grilled.

Konbujime (Konbu Marinated Hirame Sashimi 昆布締め平目

Konbujime (Konbu Marinated Hirame Sashimi 昆布締め平目

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Here Shinji-san cuts hirame very thin for sashimi. This fish is farmed in Korea. The quality is surprisingly good. Hirame is slightly sweet and the meat has a strong texture to it. Which is also why you can cut it this thin. 

We ate half  on the first day and the other half we marinated overnight wrapped in a piece of konbu. This brings out the umami in the fish and changes the texture, aroma and flavor of the fish, making it richer all around. Shinji-san here is cutting the konbujime (konbu marinated) hirame here.

Gomame - Sweet Soy Simmered Dried Sardines

Gomame - Sweet Soy Simmered Dried Sardines

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For New Year's Day I worked on making "osechi ryori" for my husband's family. This dish, gomame, are dried sardines that are cooked in a sweet soy sauce. The sardines are dry roasted in a pan then set aside. The sauce is made of soy sauce, sugar and mirin in the pan and then the sardines are added back. The results are crispy sardines with sweet covering to them.

Tuna at Tsukiji Market 築地市場の鮪

Tuna at Tsukiji Market　築地市場の鮪

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The top photo shows fresh tuna being cut into smaller pieces and the bottom two photos show the frozen tuna auction, which is open to the general public.