October Seasonal Japanese Seafood

As the waters become cooler the fish become rich with fat. We love sanma (Pacific saury) this time of year, both as sashimi, or simply salted and grilled. If there is a nice cup of nihonshu on the table, eating the guts of the sanma is also a treat. For miso soup a handful of shijimi (corbicula clams) into the pot brings lots of umami and flavor. A bowl asari (Japanese little neck clam) steamed in nihonshu is a perfect appetizer to dinner. While I always thought of hirame(halibut) and karei (flounder) as white fish and hence non-fatty that is not at all the case. These flatfish can take on a lot of fat - which you can actually see in the flesh. These are great as sashimi, or after a day or two we love to simmer until tender in nihonshu. Shinji loves kinki (thornhead), which is often served as simmered in a delicate soy broth (niomono). 

Photo above is of kinki, from the Zukan Boz website.

Click on the name in Japanese for a link to a photo of the seafood.

Ainame 鮎並 fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii)

Aka garei 赤鰈flathead flounder (Hippoglossoides dubius)

Amaebi 甘海老 sweet shrimp(Pandalus borealis)

Asaba garei 浅羽鰈 dusky sole (Lepidopsetta bilineata)

Asari 浅蜊 Japanese little neck clam (Ruditapes philippinarum)

Awabi 鮑 abalone (Haliotis sorenseni)

Babagarei 婆鰈 slime flounder (Microstomus achne)

Baka gai馬鹿貝surf clam (Mactra chinensis)

Benizuwai gani 紅頭矮蟹　red snow crab (Chionoecetes japonicus)

Botan ebi ボタンエビ Botan shrimp  (Pandalus nipponesis)

Hakkaku or tokubire 八角sailfin poacher (Podothecus sachi)

Hata hata鰰  sailfin sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus)

Hime ezobora姫蝦夷法螺  sea snail (Neptunea arthritica)

Hirame 鮃 olive halibut (Paralichthys olivaceus)

Hokkai ebi or hokkai shima ebi 北海海老 Hokkai shrimp (Pandalus latirostris)

Hokke 𩸽 arabesque greenling (Pleurogrammus azonus)

Hokki gai (uba gai) 姥貝 hen clam (Pseudocardium sachalinense)

Hokkoku aka ebi oramaebi 北国赤蝦  Alaskan pink shrimp (Pandalus borealis)

Hon maguro (or kuromaguro) 黒鮪 bluefin tuna (Thunus thynnus)

Hotate gai 帆立貝Japanese scallop (Mizuhopecten yessoensis)

Kaki  牡蠣 oyster (Crassostrea gigas)

Numagarei or wakagarei 沼鰈starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus)

Kegani 毛蟹horsehair crab (Erimacrus isenbeckii)

Kemushi kajika 毛虫鰍 sea raven or toubetsu kajika (Hemitripterus villosus)

Kinki or Kichiji 黄血魚thornhead (Sebastolobus macrochir)

Kitsune mebaru 狐目張 or mazoi fox jacopever (Sebastes vulpes)

Kuro gashiragarei 黒頭鰈 cresthead flounder (Pleuronectes schrenki)

Kurosoi 黒曹以 jacopever (Sebastes zonatusschlegeli)

Madara or tara 真鱈 Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus)

Magarei 真鰈 littlemouth flounder (Pleuronectes herzensteini)

Mako garei真子鰈marbled flounder (Pleuronectes yokohamae)

Masu 鱒trout (there are many types of trout – see nijimasu, sakuramasu)

Matsukawa garei or tantaka or takanoha 松皮鰈 barfin flounder (Verasper moseri)

Mizudako 水蛸 North Pacific giant octopus (Octopus dofleini)

Muroaji 室鰺 Brown-striped mackerel scad (Decapterus muroadsi)

Niji masu虹鱒rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Nishin 鰊Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)

Sake 鮭salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)

Sakura masu or yamame 桜鱒 cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou maso)

Sanma 秋刀魚Pacific saury (Cololabis saira)

Shako 蝦蛄 mantis shrimp (Oratosquilla oratoria)

Shiira 粃 mahi mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)

Shijimi 大和蜆 corbicula clam (Corbicula japonica)

Shirauo 白魚 icefish (Salangichthys microdon)

Shishamo 柳葉魚 capelin (Spirinchus lanceolatus)

Souhachi 宗八鰈 pointhead flounder (Cleishenes pinetorum)

Suketou dara 鯳Alaska pollack (Theragra chalcogramma)

Suna garei砂鰈 sand flounder (Limanda punctatissima)

Surumeika 鯣烏賊Japanese flying squid (Todarodes pacificus)

Tachiuo 太刀魚 cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus)

Tarabagani 鱈場蟹 Alaska king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)

Ugui 鯎 Japanese dace (Tribolodon Hakonensis)

Wakasagi 若細魚 Japanese smelt (Hypomesus nipponensis)

Yanagi no mai 柳の舞yellow rockfish (Sebastes steindachneri)

Kinpira Recipe

Shinji and I won a cooking contest at Elizabeth Andoh's Kansha cooking website. Following is the recipe we submitted.

In our house we keep a Tupperware in the fridge for vegetable scraps. During the week as dishes are assembled cuttings from different vegetables are collected here. Most often it contains carrot or daikon peels, broccoli or shiitake stems, or the tops and bottoms of bell peppers. These usually find their way to the garbage can in most homes, but if the vegetables are thoroughly washed before peeling then they can be used for cooking. Not only is it thrifty, it is using food to its fullest. 

After a good amount of vegetable scraps have been collected, but not letting too much time to pass so the vegetables spoil, it’s time to create a dish. These can be put onto a salad, into a soup, usually with some chicken stock, or made into fried rice. Another popular dish in our home is kinpira. Dinner is usually rice, a protein, and two vegetable dishes. This dish will keep for several days and is good in bento, as a topping to a green salad, or on bread for a quick sandwich.

Vegetable Scraps Kinpira

Serves four (as a side dish)

½ cup daikon peels, julienned

½ cup carrot peels, julienned

½ cup broccoli stems, julienned

½ cup tops and bottoms of bell peppers, julienned

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon sake

2 Tablespoons mirin

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

¼ teaspoon shichimi togarashi (or toasted sesame seeds)

Carefully wash the vegetables before peeling and adding to the Tupperware. Julienne vegetables into uniform cuts.

Add the vegetable oil to a fry pan. Over high heat sauté the vegetables until they start to sweat. Add the sake, mirin, and soy sauce and continue to sauté over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are tender. Taste the vegetables to see if you want to add any seasonings. Sometimes I like to toss a little bit of sesame oil at this point.

Move to a serving dish. Garnish with shichimi togarashi. (optional)

Okonomiyaki お好み焼き

I have an aunt in Osaka and almost every time that I visit her we make okonomiyaki. It's a local favorite. There is something very satisfying about this savory pancake. Piping hot, filled with cabbage, crusty bits on the edge but moist on the inside. I also find the toppings of mayonnaise, tonkatsu sauce, aonori, and katsuobushi irresistible. 

It is very easy to make at home. Recently I have been making this dish about once every two weeks. Not as the main dish in our dinner but as a side dish. If I am by myself I have it as a simple one plate lunch.

The ingredients are usually items already in the house so it is something I can pull together at the last minute.

The name itself, okonomiyaki, means "as you like it" and "grilled". You can put whatever you want into these savory pancakes. Most often I put in bacon and some cheese. Other favorites include canned tuna, sausages, or kimchi.

If you don't have bottled tonkatsu sauce at home a homemade version is quickly made with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce (see below).

This is also a fun dish to make for a casual dinner party if you have a hot plate that you can put in the middle of the table and people can cook around it. Ice-cold beer seems to be the best partner for this dish.

Okonomiyaki

(makes two)

110 grams flour

2 eggs

3 grams dashi powder (I usually put in powdered chicken stock)

1/2 tsp salt

60 cc water

1/4 cup ground yamaimo (optional, will make the okonomiyaki tender)

1/2 kg cabbage, cut into thick squares (about 1/2 inch)

dried shrimp (the tiny ones) - optional

vegetable oil

toppings: (as you like)

bacon

cheese

squid

scallops

canned tuna

nira (garlic chives)

green onions, finely chopped

whatever you like!

sauce:

mayonnaise

tonkatsu sauce (I usually do about 3 parts ketchup 1 part Worcestershire sauce)

garnish:

aonori

katsuobushi

Scramble the eggs in a big bowl and add the water, dashi (or chicken stock) and salt. Slowly incorporate the flour.

Add the julienned cabbage and dried shrimp (optional). 

POINT: Cut the cabbage into about 1/2 inch squares. Be careful not to cut it too thin or chop too finely or you will lose the texture you need to have a firmly shaped pancake.

Heat a saute pan and add vegetable oil.

Pour a large amount of batter into the pan. (I usually make one pancake per 10 or 12 inch saute pan.) Cook over medium heat until the bottom starts to brown. Add the toppings you like to the top of the pancake before you flip it over like bacon, cheese, etc. Flip the pancake and cook until it browns. 

Move to your serving platter. Top with tonkatsu sauce, mayonnaise, aonori, and katsuobushi.

As we usually eat these with chopsticks I will cut the okonomiyaki into slices like pizza. 

Also, we often do a Korean version (pajeon) with lots of nira (garlic chives) and kimchi. For a topping sauce for this I'll use tobanjan (spicy miso) or kochujan (chili paste).

One Dish Summer Salads

When it is still hot out I like to make hearty one bowl salad meals topped with either cooked chicken or thin strips of pork belly (easy to find in Japan but hard to find in the USA unless you are at a Japanese or Korean market).

The top salad here is simply shredded chicken, lettuce, steamed bean sprouts, fruit tomatoes, and julienned carrots, cucumbers, red bell peppers. My go to dressing is an umami-packed nutty, sweet, and slightly spicy banbanji sauce (recipe below).

This salad is steamed julienned cabbage, steamed bean sprouts, julienned carrots, cucumbers, and red bell pepper topped with the thin cuts of pork belly that has been quickly blanched in hot water (similar to a shabu-shabu). The first time I saw cold pork I didn't think it would be appetizing but when served with all of these vegetables and the banbanji sauce it is delicious.

Both of these salads are satisfying, filling, and hit the spot on a hot day. Everything can be prepared ahead of time so you can chill the ingredients in the fridge before serving.

Quick and Easy Banbanji Sauce

2 Tablespoons nerigoma (toasted sesame paste, do not used tahini, use peanut butter instead)

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon rayu (spicy sesame oil)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. It will keep in the fridge for several days, just stir before serving.

Shijimi Soup

It's not always easy to have access to fresh seafood. Growing up in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, we had plenty of fish in the summer. But come winter the closest I would get to fish would be a Filet-O-Fish at McDonald's.

One good way to have a bit of seafood during the week is to stock up on some items like this shijimi su-pu (shijimi soup). Little corbicula clams with wakame in a clear broth. Simply boil with some hot water and it's a nice last minute addition to any meal. This pack cost 525 JPY for 20 servings. It tastes good and is great to have on hand. Easy ways to add more to the soup is to include soft tofu or green onions.

Furikake Tasting Round One ふりかけ

Growing up we always had furikake in the house. It was a way to make white rice into a light snack, especially after coming home from school. Back in the 70s furikake was simple stuff, some nori and either something like fish flakes or dried egg yolks. Now I carefully peruse the furikake section of the supermarket (or the 100 yen shop) as the variety is amazing. I am one of those people that needs to try everything at least once if I can. So when I see a new type of furikake I immediately am curious as to how it will taste.

This first pack caught my eye as it is based on the popular taberu ra-yu (edible chili oil) that is taking the country by storm. While it's not as good as the real stuff, it's not a bad substitute. It includes tiny dried shrimp, and the mysterious crunchy bits of ra-yu. Ohmoriya has a great selection of furikake, in particular, I love the kari kari series that includes bits of crunchy umeboshi or takuan.

Another one that grabbed my attention was this pack as I love tarako and mentaiko, and I am also a fan of this company's products. Nagatanien has other great flavors like chirimen sansho, uni, and sukiyaki. However, I will have to say that this was the first of their products that I didn't care for. The texture was too much like sand. But, their other furikake are definitely worth trying, especially the chirimen sansho.

Mishima may be my favorite furikake company as they produce Yukari (dried, red shiso furikake) and Nameshi (dried, salted greens), both of which I always have in my pantry. This product is yukari, shirasu (tiny, dried anchovies), and sesame seeds. We loved this and will definitely get more. The shirasu was a nice contrast to the tart shiso leaves. I am going to try this over some angel hair pasta with some extra virgin olive oil. I can already tell it is going to be a hit.

Do you have any favorite furikake? Please post below if you do.

Shijimi Gohan しじみご飯

Shijimi are tiny corbicula clams that are perhaps most commonly found in miso soup. This prepackaged shijimi that is seasoned with soy sauce, ginger, and soy sauce added to the rice pot with some sake and soy sauce makes for a flavorful bowl of shijimi gohan.

The package also suggests having the shijimi as they are as a snack with beer, as a topping to pasta, in fried rice, or simmered with daikon. But I can't resist cooking this with rice.

This was purchased in a seafood market but if you are shopping at a regular supermarket then look at the seafood section.

September Seasonal Japanese Seafood

Perhaps no fish signals the arrival of autumn to me than sanma (Pacific saury), a silver skinned, long and skinny fish that for me is best when simply salted and grilled. This at night with a glass of nihonshu or shochu is heaven for me. What many Japanese especially appreciate is the bitter innards of the grilled sanma, a nice match for a hearty sake.

The shijimi (corbicula clams) are perfect in a bowl of miso soup and asari (Japanese littleneck clams) are great simply steamed in some sake or if you are craving a Western preparation, then steamed with white wine and garlic and served over pasta.

Many flounders are in season now. We like these meuniere style, sauteed in butter and then finished with a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Finally, a lot of these are great as sashimi. Shinji likes the fishy seafood like nishin (Pacific herring), sanma (Pacific saury), and iwashi (Japanse anchovy).

To make it easier for readers to understand what each seafood is I have linked to a photo of the seafood. Just click on the Japanese name.

Ainame 鮎並 fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii)

Aka garei 赤鰈 flathead flounder (Hippoglossoides dubius)

Akijake 秋鮭

Amaebi 甘海老 sweet shrimp (Pandalus borealis)

Asaba garei 浅羽鰈 dusky sole (Lepidopsetta bilineata)

Asahigani spanner crab (Ranina ranina)

Asari 浅蜊 Japanese little neck clam (Ruditapes philippinarum)

Awabi 鮑 abalone (Haliotis sorenseni)

Ayu 鮎 sweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis)

Baka gai 馬鹿貝 surf clam (Mactra chinensis)

Benizuwai gani 紅頭矮蟹　red snow crab (Chionoecetes japonicus)

Botan ebi ボタンエビ Botan shrimp (Pandalus nipponesis)

Dojou 泥鰌 loach (Misgurnus Anguillicaudatus)

Ezo bafun uni 蝦夷馬糞海胆 short-spined sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius)

Ezobora 蝦夷法螺 whelk (Neptunea polycostata)

Hakkaku 八角 sailfin poacher (Podothecus sachi)

Also called tokubire

Hanasaki gani 花咲蟹 spiny king crab (Paralithodes brevipes)

Hata hata 鰰 sailfin sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus)

Hime ezobora 姫蝦夷法螺 sea snail (Neptunea arthritica)

Hirame 鮃 olive halibut (Paralichthys olivaceus)

Hokke ホッケ arabesque greenling (Pleurogrammus azonus)

Hokki gai (uba gai) 姥貝 hen clam (Pseudocardium sachalinense)

Hokkoku aka ebi 北国赤蝦 Alaskan pink shrimp (Pandalus borealis)

Hon maguro (or kuromaguro) 黒鮪 bluefin tuna (Thunus thynnus)

Hotate gai 帆立貝 Japanese scallop (Mizuhopecten yessoensis)

http://www.zukan-bouz.com/suzuki/ibodai/ibodai.html 疣鯛 butterfish (Psenopsis anomala)

Kaki 牡蠣 oyster (Crassostrea gigas)

Katakuchi iwashi 片口鰯 Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus)

Kawa yatsume 川八目 Japanese lamprey (Lampetra japonica)

Kawagarei or Numagarei 沼鰈 starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus)

Kegani 毛蟹 horsehair crab (Erimacrus isenbeckii)

Kinki or Kichiji 黄血魚 thornhead (Sebastolobus macrochir)

Kita murasaki uni 北紫海胆 Northern sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus nudus)

Kouika 甲烏賊 cuttlefish (Sepia (Platysepia) esculenta)

Kounago 小女子 Japanese sand lance (Ammodytes personatus)

Kuro gashira garei 黒頭鰈 cresthead flounder (Pleuronectes schrenki)

http://www.zukan-bouz.com/karei/karei/kurogarei.html 黒鰈 black plaice (Pleuronectes obscurus)

Kuruma ebi 車海老 kuruma prawn (Penaeus (Melicertus) japonicus)

Ma anago 真穴子 conger eel (Conger myriaster)

Magarei 真鰈 littlemouth flounder (Pleuronectes herzensteini)

Mako garei 真子鰈 marbled flounder (Pleuronectes yokohamae)

Managatsuo 真名鰹 silver pomfret (Pampus punctatissimus)

masu 鱒 trout (there are many types of trout – see nijimasu, sakuramasu)

mizudako 水蛸 North Pacific giant octopus (Octopus dofleini)

http://www.zukan-bouz.com/sonota/namako/manamako.html 真海鼠 Japanese sea cucumber (Stichopus japonica)

Niji masu 虹鱒 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Nishin 鰊 Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)

Sake 鮭 salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)

Sakura masu 桜鱒 cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou maso)

Sanma 秋刀魚 Pacific saury (Cololabis saira)

Saragai 皿貝 Northern great tellin (Megangulus venulosa)

Shijimi 大和蜆 corbicula clam (Corbicula japonica)

Shirauo 白魚 icefish (Salangichthys microdon)

Souhachi 宗八鰈 pointhead flounder (Cleishenes pinetorum)

Suketou dara 鯳 Alaska pollack (Theragra chalcogramma)

Suna garei 砂鰈 sand flounder (Limanda punctatissima)

Surumeika 鯣烏賊 Japanese flying squid (Todarodes pacificus)

Tachiuo 太刀魚 cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus)

Tarabagani 鱈場蟹 Alaska king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)

Torigai 鳥貝 Japanese cockle (Fulvia mutica)

Unagi 鰻 Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica)

Wakasagi 若細魚 Japanese smelt (Hypomesus nipponensis)

Yanagi no mai 柳の舞 yellow rockfish (Sebastes steindachneri)