Right around September through October in Japan, the Japanese love to harvest tons of delicious saury, or mackerel pike as we call it in the West. The Japanese call this fish さんま / サンマ / 秋刀魚 - Sanma, and it’s considered a local delicacy in season.
At the time of posting the best time to order is now, just before October. I kept an old invoice of my purchase years ago to show you what a private brand looks like. This is called “brand sanma” and is considered a local prize catch in Hokkaido. The elongated body is firm when held upright due to the fat and high mineral content in the waters off the coast of Kushiro.
Look at the oily sheen and appearance when held upright… This fish was caught, packed, and flown directly to Haneda airport on the same day and fished 33km off shore in a triangular feeding ground in the open sea.
Brand sanma is not sold to national supermarket chains on the mainland of Japan, but are special ordered months in advance by high ranking restaurants in places like the Ginza. These fish are caught by private fisheries in Hokkaido who have special catch licenses to fish in special algae zones.
Grilling them is lovely and smokey. I was already on my second cold beer when I was cooking this and my taste buds were primed and ready. Even the special sanma soy sauce was thrown in for free just to enjoy the goodness.
National supermarket chains will sell imported saury, unless you live in a small fishing town in which case they would serve only what they were able to catch and are usually frozen. Store bought saury will be thinner and less flavorsome than brand saury.
Thank you for sharing nice Sanma photos and the information.
My best way to eat Sanma is grilling with salt. Grated radish fits well. The next is Sanma Don (サンマ丼) with the sauce using ginger, sesame oil, sake, and soy sauce. They are definitely great and fit very well with Sake.
The most important point for eating tasty Sanma is the freshness. Don’t pass up the chance to the best season. Even if it is not brand Sanma, at least we must to know the way to identify the freshness. The eyes, body-color, and size are very important check-points. And as you said, we should avoid frozen Sanma as much as possible.
Hello @user_not_found , How delicious it looks😋!
In fact, Japanese prefer saury with thick fat. Such a preference would be unique. Most Japanese people like it:rice:. And there are many types of Japanese soy sauce dedicated to specific dishes.
@user_not_found Thank you for mentioning me. Wow, you make me hungry again. That Saury is so mouth watering. I love fish and I would love to try it. Is there any restaurant you would recommend for us? @YasumiKikuchi@HiroyukiTakisawa
Actually famous in the pacific saury is Miyagi Japan. Although not well known to foreigners, Miyagi and Hokkaido have the best fish. We recommend that you check out restaurants in the area.
@YasumiKikuchi I totally agree with you and think that more of us need to enjoy local delicacies like fish from Miyagi and Hokkaido. What is your favorite Autumn food?
Probably the same as you. Newly harvested rice and Buckwheat, Saury, Persimmon, Chestnuts, Matsutake mushrooms, Eggplant and Venison. In addition, for Tohoku, Soup with taro called “Imoni”
@HiroyukiTakisawa Here in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo, we have Sanma fish curry, and they sell-out often. Anyway, I love fresh sanma over a fire and eaten with cold beer. Grated radish and salt are lovely combinations too.
Hi @AdamGT Yes. The Japanese love their fish, especially when they are in season. In the U.S. we eat food whenever we want regardless of the season. We over-farm and overgrow with chemicals. Here in Japan I love the balance of nature and respect of the seasons. Do you have a favorite autumn dish?
I hear what you have said about food in the U.S. and know this well as I have family there and whenever I return it is just so noticeable! Very sad really. I can’t say that I have a favorite Autumn dish as it depends on where I am at the time but I find that I can eat fish any time of the year.
good evening.
Thank you for sharing the delicious saury photo.
It’s time for Akitou.
I also love sword fish and want to eat delicious sword fish quickly.
I will share photos of saury.
Thank you very much.
@955HIRO Amazing pictures you have here. I especially love the garnishes and small dishes you used to beautify everything. By the way, what is inside the bowl of rice?
@AdamGT Have you tried the milk in Japan? I had my first culture shock in Japan when I tried the milk here. It was the real taste of whole milk and never knew milk could taste that good.
. And there are many types of Japanese soy sauce dedicated to specific dishes.
There is a Sanma Festival in the season!
