table talk

Tis the season for sanma

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By Gina Colburn Goto

As the temperature starts to drop in Japan, there are certain foods that the Japanese look forward to such as varieties of mushrooms and roasted chestnuts. But by far, the most prominent seasonal food presenting autumn has to be sanma or Pacific Saury. It is available in most supermarkets during the fall season throughout Japan. When you find sanma at the store, you know autumn is here.

The name of the fish, sanma, literally translates as “autumn knife fish”, in reference to its peak season and its body shape, somewhat resembling a knife or a sword. The fish has a small mouth and a long body; the average body length is 36 – 41 cm.

The most popular way of eating this beautiful silvery dark blue-colored fish is by grilling it with a sprinkle of salt. This is called "shioyaki," "shio" meaning salt and "yaki" meaning grilled.

I love eating this simple sanma shioyaki with a bowl of white rice and some miso soup, but as I always like to do with other ingredients, I have experimented using sanma in other dishes.

Because the fish is rich in unsaturated fatty acids or the “good fats” such as EPA and DHA which is so good for the human body, I want to serve this to my family as often as I can while it is in season. I found out that sanma is a versatile fish. It tastes good with a sweet teriyaki sauce or pan fried crisp with some olive oil.

Here is a pasta dish that my family loved. If you have a hard time finding sanma in your area, it can be substituted with any type of fish such as fresh salmon or even canned sardines.

Spaghetti with Sanma

Ingredients (for 2 servings): 2 whole sanma, filleted Salt & pepper to taste 3 Tbs Olive Oil 1 garlic clove 1 dried red pepper 200g spaghetti 2 Tbs Soy Sauce 20g butter Chives or parsley for garnish

1) Boil a big pot of water, put in generous amount of salt, and boil spaghetti according to the package. 2) While the pasta is boiling, heat up olive oil in a separate pan, infusing the oil with a crushed garlic clove and a dried whole red pepper. 3) Saute the sanma after seasoning them with salt and pepper in the hot oil. Once cooked, place them on a plate, flaking half of the portion into bite size pieces. 4) Place the cooked & drained spaghetti into the pan, tossing the noodles in the oil. Add butter and soy sauce. Return half of the sanma into the pan with the noodles. Toss well. 5) Garnish with the rest of the sanma. Place chives or any kind of green on top to decorate.

NOTE: The combination of butter and soy sauce makes any spaghetti dish to die for. This combination will match other fish or any type of vegetables. If you are a natto (fermented beans) fan, it would be a great topping for this or any butter/soy sauce-based pasta.

© Japan Today

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I feel sorry for any tourist who doesn't get to experience sanma, especially salt-grilled and served with grated daikon radish and soy sauce. It is the quintessential Japanese cuisine. Unfortunately it is not widely available in Japanese restaurants (because traditionally it was regarded as a peasant dish) but if you are lucky enough to be staying with a Japanese family or friend at this time of year, then definitely ask them to cook it for you. You won't regret it

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