Sanma, a fish for the fall season。
さんまは秋の季節の魚です。
Tokyoites endured torrential rains and heavy winds this week. Weatherman Jonah tells me that it was because of the convergence of two typhoons over the Kanto area. 
Sanma is a slender silver fish, not very big, maybe 25 cms in length. The season is just a few weeks in the fall. Sanma are cheap, between 100 and 130 yen apiece. They are grilled whole and eaten with grated daikon and citrus.
But today dawned bright and just a bit chilly. Still the wind. The strong smell of ginko nuts pervades. It is sanma season.
Sanma is a slender silver fish, not very big, maybe 25 cms in length. The season is just a few weeks in the fall. Sanma are cheap, between 100 and 130 yen apiece. They are grilled whole and eaten with grated daikon and citrus.Martin and I decided that sanma season can be compared to sweet corn season in the midwest. A favorite, you eat it often during the season, then it goes away for a year. I ate sanma only once, maybe 4-5 years ago with my friend, Hiro-san. So, this week, we were planning a small gathering of friends, and we decided to make it a sanma party.
Earlier in the day, I went to Tsukiji Fish Market to buy the sanma. I had been talking with my teacher about how m
any fish to buy for the 11 or 12 people coming, and what to say.
any fish to buy for the 11 or 12 people coming, and what to say. How many sanma do we need for 12 people?
jjyunin notameni sannma wa nan biki iru to omoimasuka.
12人のためにさんまは何びき要ると思いますか。
18 sanma please
Can you please take the guts out?
Harawata wo dashite moraemasuka.
はらわたを出して貰えますか。
It's okay to leave the heads on.
atama ha so nomamade iidesu.
頭はそのままでいいです。
I never got to say that part about the heads. The fishmonger at Tsukiji refused to take the guts out. It wasn't that he wasn't kind... he was. It wasn't that he didn't do guts...he did. It's just that with sanma, you cook it whole. When I told Nobu-san about the incident, he immediately launched into an accurate (and very funny) rendition of what the fish seller might have said. Something like.... "What? Gut sanma? No way. Are you crazy? Oh, you're a foreigner, so you don't know. You don't take the guts out. You 
cook it whole. You got Japanese people coming to this? You have to grill the whole fish. If you don't want to eat the guts, that's okay, just leave them. But your Japanese friends will like it all. We eat sanma this way."
cook it whole. You got Japanese people coming to this? You have to grill the whole fish. If you don't want to eat the guts, that's okay, just leave them. But your Japanese friends will like it all. We eat sanma this way."And he was right. It was easy. Our friends gave us pointers about cooking the sanma and then how to de-bone it while eating it. It was a wonderful and delicious experience.
Capable Cooks: Martin, Rebecca, Nobu-san, Pamela
Enthusiastic Participants: Szilvia, Ayumi-san, Nori-san, Harunori-chan, Alexander, Monica, Ellis, Jonah
楽しかったです！
築地の魚屋さんとのやり取りが目に浮かびます！
さんまは秋刀魚とも書きますね。
秋の刀の魚、なるほど！
Posted by: Nobu | October 08, 2006 at 07:38 PM
I like samma for my lanch, rich nutrition - 栄養があります。 But I don't like guts.
Posted by: maji | October 10, 2006 at 10:33 AM
I'm with you, Maji-san. Everyone says that fish is so simple to cook. I know that it is healthy and delicious. But usually, the only fish I cook is salmon. I cook it in the oven with butter and sake and soysauce. and serve it over rice, like a ricebowl.
Nobu-san, I will try swordfish next. Now, thanks to you, Martin is not afraid of fish on the grill.
皆さんは魚が簡単だと言いし、体にいいし、おいしいです。そうすると、よく焼くつもりです。
。。。。
そこからに、主人は魚を焼きで見ると思います。
次に刀の魚。
Posted by: Pamela | October 11, 2006 at 10:31 AM
We've been eating more fish lately - but I don't think I could ever bring myself to eat the guts of anything.
Posted by: nichole jorgensen | October 14, 2006 at 08:12 PM