Sanma
One of the most popular small fish in Japan are these long thin silver missiles called Sanma. They are a dark fleshed and deliciously oily (think Omega 3) fish that takes roughly no time at all to prepare and cook. Cleaning is a 10 second affair and scaling is a waste of time. About 2 minutes on each side in the grille and you are done. This probably explains why they are always available and popular in supermarkets. That and the way that they keep on stubbornly reproducing despite the fact that millions of Japanese people (and foreigners) are set on eating them.
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POSTED IN: Ingredient Spotlight, Japanese, Seafood Dishes : Asian
1 opinion for Sanma
Chesu
Apr 27, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Isn’t there a story or folk tale about sanma? Some feudal lord is out touring the Meguro countryside and stops for lunch, and has the most delicious fish he’s ever eaten- sanma, greasy and covered in salt. He says to the restaurant owner, “What is this fish? Where ever did you find it?”, and the owner says “This is sanma, and it was caught just this morning by local fishermen!”.
When the feudal lord returns home, he orders his cooks to prepare him some sanma, and they, thinking of his health as always, steam it. The lord, of course, is shocked by the difference.
“Where did you get this?!”
“It was caught just this morning, in [local place]*.”
“[local place]?! You idiots! For sanma, it has to be Meguro!!”
*I forget where the feudal lord lived
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