August Seasonal Sashimi

Shinji's father made this sashimi platter for dinner recently. On the top row on the left is tairagai (Japanese pen shell) with a rich texture and on the right is tachiuo (cutlassfish), a light whitefish.



In the middle row there is chutoro from tuna, aori ika (bigfin reef squid), and some sanma (Pacific saury) marinated in vinegar.



On the bottom row is sanma (Pacific saury) briefly marinated in vinegar and tako (octopus) from Hokkaido.

August Seasonal Japanese Seafood

Look for these seafood when eating out in Japan or in the supermarkets or at your fishmonger. Most of the seafood listed here you can enjoy as sushi or sashimi. At home we like to have tachiuo as sashimi with a bit of sesame oil and sea salt. Karei we like either simmered in a delicate dashi with some soy sauce and mirin or cooked in butter and lemon meuniere-style. Ayu is best salted and grilled. And while we don't cook hamo at home we look forward to having it out at restaurants, especially with a bainiku (umeboshi) dressing. We had katsuo over the weekend at a restaurant. The chef seared the outside (tataki), sliced it, and served it over a bowl of rice with grated nagaimo.

Aka isaki　赤伊佐幾 Schlegel's red bass (Caprodon schlegelii)
Ayu 鮎 sweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis)
Hamo 鱧 pike eel or pike conger (Muraenesox cinereus)
Hoya ほや sea squirt(Halocynthia roretzi)
Inada 鰍 young amberjack (or yellowtail) (Seriola quinqueradiata)
Stages of buri: wakashi, inada, warasa, buri
Isaki 伊佐幾 chicken grunt (Parapristipoma trilineatum)
Kanpachi 間八 amberjack or yellowtail (Seriola dumerili)
Karei 鰈 right-eye flounder (Pleuronectes herzensteini)
Katsuo 鰹 skipjack tuna (or bonito) (Katsuwonus pelamis)
Kensaki ika 剣先烏賊 swordtip squid (Loligo edulis)
Kijihata (Akahata) 雉羽太 red-spotted grouper (Epinephelus akaara)
Ko yari ika 小槍烏賊 baby spear squid (Loligo bleekeri)
Maiwashi 真鰯 Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus)
Matsubu (Ezobora) まつぶ（えぞぼら Japanese neptune or whelk (Neptunea polycostata)
Mehikari 目光 greeneyes (Chlorophthalmus borealis)
Saba 鯖 Japanese mackerel (Scomber japonicus)
Saragai 皿貝 Northern great telling (Megangulus venulosa)
Shiira しいら　鱪 dorado or mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)
Shima aji 島鯵 striped jack or white trevally (Pseudocaranx dentex)
Shinko (Konoshiro) 鰶 dotted gizzard shad (Konosirus punctatus)
Surumei ika するめいか　鯣烏賊 Japanese common squid (or flying squid) (Todarodes pacificus)
Suzuki すずき　鱸 Japanese sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus)
Tachiuo 太刀魚 cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus)
Tobiuo 飛魚 flying fish (Cypselurus agoo)

August Seasonal Japanese Vegetables

August is when the gardens are overflowing. Some vegetables on our table this time of year are salted edamame, eggplant simmered in a sweet miso sauce, bitter melon stir-fry (like goya champuru), or green beans with a sesame dressing. Pickles are a quick dish for the hot summer quickly made from cucumbers, young ginger or cabbage. Many of these vegetables can be quickly stir-fried like the peppers, bok choy, or zucchini. And two of my favorites are spaghetti squash with a Bolognese sauce or buttered corn.

Edamame 枝豆
Tomato トマト
Nasu 茄子 eggplant
Shin shouga 新しょうが new ginger
Papurika パプリカ bell pepper
Pi-man ピーマン Japanese green bell pepper
Tougarashi 唐辛子 green pepper
Zucchini ズッキニ
Chingensai ちんげん菜 bok choy
Kyuuri きゅうり cucumber
Saya ingen さやいんげん green beans
Tougan 冬瓜 winter squash
Kinshi uri 金糸瓜 spaghetti squash
Nigauri にがうり bitter melon
Okra オクラ
Tsuru murasaki つるむらさき Malabar spinach
Zuiki ズイキ taro stems
Myoga みょうが
Tomorokoshi ともろこし corn
Ninniku にんにく garlic
Takahara Kyabettsu 高原キャベッツ Takahara cabbage

Uni Pasta うにパスタ

When chef Edward Higgins was at the Four Seasons Marunouchi near Tokyo Station he served an uni pasta that was so good I wanted to lick the plate clean. I believe he is now at the Four Seasons Palo Alto. Not sure if the uni pasta is on his menu but I started to make it at home, inspired by Edward.

Let me add that whenever I see uni pasta on a menu I order it but over the years I have never had one as delicious.

Saute some garlic and onions in olive oil. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Incorporate some tomato paste and at the last minute add the uni. Toss over angel hair pasta.