The spawning season is the biggest factor that determines the seasonal cycle of fish.
Fish eat a lot of energy before spawning, and the meat quality will be fatter, while the meat quality of fish will be slightly worse during and after spawning. However, this is only a general rule, and it will be different according to the species and space-time position of fish. Moreover, with the development of aquaculture and logistics, the concept of ten-day is actually reduced. However, a 10-day holiday is always a sign of human understanding of natural changes, and it is also a pleasure to enjoy seafood from different rivers in different seasons.
In summer, besides the bamboo pod fish and fragrant fish mentioned above, in autumn and winter, besides tuna, bonito, flounder and crab, what seafood can you eat in different seasons?
In spring, you can taste red soft-shelled turtle, big squid, needlefish and the first silver carp.
Red turtle is the protagonist in the popular menu in spring, and there is even a saying that "there are cherry blossoms in flowers and red turtles in fish". At the end of winter every year, red snapper begins to eat a lot to prepare for spawning. Therefore, when cherry blossoms are in full bloom in spring, the fat of red snapper is the most beautiful, and its skin color is like bright cherry blossom powder, so it is called "cherry snapper", and the natural fish in Seto Inland Sea, especially Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture and the famous family in Tokushima Prefecture, is the top grade.
Sakura snapper tastes sweet and tender, and its meat is elastic. It can be made into sashimi, sushi or snapper rice. In order to keep this fleeting taste, most of the red snappers in the Japanese market are slaughtered live fish. When slaughtering, the chef uses the living association technology to deliberately destroy the fish's nerves to delay the fish's rigidity.
Compared with the real red snapper, the name of six-line fish looks ordinary, but it is impressive. Hexagrarius otaru lives in shallow waters all over Japan and is widely distributed. Spring is its season. Its fish is shiny, very smooth and rich in oil, but very tough and delicious. Because it is as delicious as fragrant fish, the Japanese named the large six-line fish silkworm. Unlike cherry snapper, which declined rapidly after entering summer, hexaploid fish in midsummer also tastes good. When diners taste squid in summer, I wonder if they will think of the scene of enjoying gluttony and watching cherry blossoms in spring?
Needlefish is graceful and slender, and comes into the market in large quantities in spring. You can see a blue line on the fish. Needle-shaped fish has the fresh flavor of green-backed fish, but the aftertaste is a bit bitter and attractive, and it is the flagship of sushi restaurants this season.
Although bonito is better known for its role as the raw material of fish fillets and supporting the flavor framework of Japanese original soup, it will taste just as good if eaten directly. With ocean currents, bonito migrates between tropical temperate zones. The bonito that goes north in late spring and early summer every year is called the first bonito. Although it is not as fat as bonito going south in autumn, the market and diners prefer the first bonito, and the love for the first bonito has become a unique culture before Edo. By the way, bonito is perishable, and freshness is especially important when sushi or sashimi is used.
As for summer, don't miss new seeds and sardines.
Shinko is a newborn fry. When used as sushi material, Shinko must be pickled with salt and vinegar. Because it is too small, it takes several pieces to hold a consistent sushi. Whether to provide new products, the processing level of new products can reflect the cooking skills of sushi restaurants.
Sardines taste best in the rainy season. It is extremely difficult to keep sardines fresh. In the era of underdeveloped refrigeration technology, raw food can only be provided in the country of origin. Even now, not to mention sardines are cut overnight and in the morning. If they are not carefully preserved, they can't be eaten at dinner.
In autumn and winter, no matter saury, mackerel, cod or shellfish, there is no shortage of one.
Saury, as its name implies, comes on the market in autumn. When used as sushi and sashimi, pay attention to the season. As a grilled fish, it will be eaten all year round. Every autumn, when the first wave of saury comes on the market in Kushiro, Hokkaido, it will attract market attention.
Mackerel, commonly known as blue and white fish, is mostly stained with vinegar when used as sushi material and sashimi. Only a few chefs would recommend eating raw without salting. It is a common ingredient in boiled fish and grilled fish.
Cod meat tastes dull when eaten raw, and is mostly used in hot pot, stew and dried fish. Cod offal can be cooked in many ways. For example, the dishes cooked by internal organs are the local dishes in Yamagata, Aomori and other places in the northeast. Cod seminal vesicle is only available in autumn and winter, which is very delicious.
Bei Ji Bei Bei is produced in northeastern Japan, Hokkaido and other areas, and most of it circulates in frozen water, especially in winter, which is called one of the "winter flavors" of Hokkaido. In addition, shellfish are also produced in North America and other places, but after the local shellfish are caught, the shellfish meat is cooked immediately, frozen and exported, and the price is very cheap.
In order to distinguish it from the northern shellfish produced in Japan, the frozen shellfish in North America is called "Arctic shellfish" and will not appear in high-end restaurants.
When you meet a group of seasonal aquatic products in a Japanese restaurant, you may be ecstatic about the flavor of seasonal ingredients, or feel sad that some ingredients will not meet again until the same time next year. The so-called cooking is never just the relationship between eating and being eaten, but the emotion related to food.
Brief introduction of the author
Wan Wan has been engaged in the financial industry for many years. Out of curiosity about delicious food, he went to cooking school, La Cordillera, France, to study French cuisine on 20th/0/3rd. At present, he writes for many food magazines and is also the chief contributor of the official account of Japanese magazine WeChat "Japan Magazine". I like the sincere satisfaction brought by food, and I also like to examine the culture and science behind cooking from a rational perspective.