Appendices
Appendix D
Seasonal Calendar
This appendix shows the peak seasons of the main neta (toppings) in a month-by-month table. Knowing the seasons helps you make buying decisions faster, and it gives you more to talk about with guests. After the tables come short readings on what a sushi restaurant is like in spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
D.1 What Is Peak Season?
Peak season (shun) is the time when a fish's fat and flavor are at their best. Many fish reach their peak season before spawning. This is because they eat a lot and store fat to build up their roe or milt. Once spawning begins, nutrients go to the roe or milt, and the flesh becomes thin and watery. Any fish that has just finished spawning tastes worse.
Water temperature also shifts the peak season. As the water grows colder toward winter, fish store fat to survive the winter. Fish whose names carry "kan" (the cold of midwinter), such as kan-buri (winter buri), kan-birame (winter hirame), and kan-saba (winter mackerel), are said to carry the most fat. In them, the fat stored before spawning and the fat stored for winter overlap.
Peak season has three stages. The first stage is hashiri (first of the season). The fish are small and have little fat, but they have a good aroma and texture, and they offer the pleasure of tasting the season early. Next is sakari (peak), when fat and umami are at their best and prices are at their highest. The last stage is nagori (end of the season). The fish still have fat, but the flesh begins to soften.
Even for fish in season, the safety rules do not change. Mackerel and Pacific saury full of fat still carry Anisakis, and summer fish carry Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Think of peak season as a matter of taste, and safety as a separate matter. Chapter 11 covers peak season and judging fish quality (mekiki) in detail.
D.2 Peak Seasons by Month
Table D-1 below shows the peak seasons of the main toppings by month. It is a guide based on markets in the Kanto region. Seasons shift with the sea area and the year. Even for the same fish, the peak season in the north and the south can differ by 1 to 2 months. Ask at the market or your intermediate wholesaler (nakaoroshi) to confirm the seasons for the waters your restaurant buys from. The symbols in the table mean the following.
- ● Peak season (sakari). A guide to when fat and flavor are at their best.
- ○ Hashiri or nagori. The times just before and just after the peak. This also includes times when young, small fish come to market, such as shinko (baby kohada) and shin-ika (young cuttlefish). The "Note" column says which period it is.
- Blank Not in peak season. This does not mean the fish is unavailable. Some farmed, imported, and frozen fish can be bought all year round.
| Topping | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific bluefin tuna (Japanese coastal waters) | ● | ● | ● | ● | In summer, the fish loses fat to spawning, and the akami (lean tuna) tastes sharply acidic (summer bluefin). Southern bluefin tuna from the Southern Hemisphere has the opposite season | ||||||||
| Skipjack tuna (katsuo, bonito) | ● | ● | ● | ● | April to May is hatsu-gatsuo (the first skipjack of early summer, low in fat). September to October is modori-gatsuo (autumn skipjack, rich in fat) | ||||||||
| Red sea bream (madai) | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | Sakura-dai in spring, momiji-dai in autumn. After spawning in early summer, it is called mugiwara-dai and tastes worse | ||||||
| Olive flounder (hirame) | ● | ● | ● | ● | Kan-birame (winter hirame). In summer, after spawning, it is "neko-matagi" (so poor that even a cat steps over it) | ||||||||
| Japanese sea bass (suzuki) | ● | ● | ● | One of the few white-fleshed fish in season in summer | |||||||||
| Japanese amberjack (buri, yellowtail) | ● | ● | ● | Winter buri. After spawning in spring, it loses its fat | |||||||||
| Greater amberjack (kanpachi) | ● | ● | ● | ● | Farmed fish are available all year | ||||||||
| Striped jack (shima-aji) | ● | ● | ● | ● | Much of it is farmed and on the market all year | ||||||||
| Kohada (gizzard shad) | ○ | ○ | ○ | ● | ● | ● | ● | ○ marks when shinko (baby kohada) is on the market. It is thin during spawning, from spring to early summer. Supplies arrive all year | |||||
| Mackerel (chub mackerel, masaba) | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | Thin in summer after spawning. Blue mackerel (goma-saba) is in season in summer | |||||||
| Horse mackerel (Japanese jack mackerel) | ● | ● | ● | ● | Small ones come to market from spring | ||||||||
| Sardine (Japanese sardine) | ● | ● | ● | ● | Rich in fat in the rainy season (nyubai iwashi, or rainy-season sardine). Of all hikarimono (silver-skinned fish), it spoils the fastest | ||||||||
| Pacific saury | ● | ● | It loses fat as it moves south from the north | ||||||||||
| Japanese halfbeak (sayori) | ● | ● | ● | ○ | One of the fish that announce spring. ○ marks nagori | ||||||||
| Golden cuttlefish (sumi-ika) | ● | ○ | ○ | ● | ● | ● | ○ marks when shin-ika (small young cuttlefish) is on the market | ||||||
| Bigfin reef squid | ● | ● | ● | Small ones also come to market in autumn | |||||||||
| Firefly squid (hotaru-ika) | ● | ● | ● | Boil it and serve it as gunkan (battleship roll). To serve it raw, you must deal with a parasite (spirurid nematode larva) | |||||||||
| Kuruma prawn (wild) | ● | ● | ● | Farmed and live prawns are available all year | |||||||||
| Akagai (ark shell, blood clam) | ● | ● | ● | ● | The meat is thin in summer, during spawning | ||||||||
| Scallop (Japanese scallop) | ● | ● | ● | ● | The adductor muscle grows thick before spawning | ||||||||
| Torigai (Japanese egg cockle) | ● | ● | ● | The black surface rubs off easily. Do not soak it in water | |||||||||
| Abalone | ● | ● | ● | ○ | Thin in winter after spawning. In many areas, fishing is closed from autumn to winter. ○ marks nagori | ||||||||
| Bafun uni (short-spined sea urchin) | ● | ● | ● | The edible part (the gonads) fills out before spawning | |||||||||
| Murasaki uni (purple sea urchin) | ● | ● | ● | The edible part is pale yellow and delicate | |||||||||
| Anago (conger eel) | ● | ● | ● | Rainy-season anago is at its best for fat and tenderness | |||||||||
| Ikura (salmon roe from autumn salmon) | ● | ● | ● | Eggs from before spawning. Later in the season, the skins of the eggs become tough |
For some fish, the season cannot be pinned down to the month. For Japanese whiting (kisu), thread-sail filefish (kawahagi), blackthroat seaperch (nodoguro), ama-ebi (sweet shrimp), mantis shrimp, common octopus, hamaguri (Japanese hard clam), aoyagi (Chinese mactra), and similar toppings, it is enough to remember the season. They are listed in Table D-2.
| Topping | Peak season (guide) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese whiting (kisu) | Summer | Its umami is light, so it suits kobujime (curing between kombu sheets) |
| Thread-sail filefish (kawahagi) | Autumn to winter | The season when the liver grows large. Use the liver the same day |
| Blackthroat seaperch (nodoguro) and splendid alfonsino (kinmedai) | Winter | Bring out the fat under the skin with aburi (searing with a flame) or yushimo (scalding then chilling in ice water) |
| Ama-ebi (sweet shrimp) and botan shrimp | Winter to spring | Use them raw for nigiri. The rich innards in the head are also used |
| Mantis shrimp | Spring (with roe) and autumn | Boil them alive and peel them right away |
| Common octopus | Summer | It also tastes good in winter |
| Hamaguri (Japanese hard clam) | Winter to spring | Simmer briefly and steep in the cooking liquid to make simmered hamaguri |
| Aoyagi (Chinese mactra) and kobashira | Spring | Both come from the same clam (bakagai). The foot is aoyagi, and the small adductor muscles are kobashira. Kobashira is served as gunkan |
D.3 The Sushi Restaurant Through the Seasons
Spring
Spring is the season for white-fleshed fish and shellfish. In March and April, the body of madai turns a bright cherry-blossom pink before spawning, so it is called sakura-dai (cherry-blossom sea bream). Sayori is one of the fish that announce spring. Its thin, clear flesh is lightly cured and made into nigiri. Among shellfish, akagai and scallops continue from winter, and torigai joins them from April. The small firefly squid (March to May) is boiled and served as gunkan. Bafun uni is also in season from March to May. April and May are the season of hatsu-gatsuo, which is low in fat and light in taste. Meanwhile, buri, which spawns in spring, loses its fat. Even in the same spring, some fish are coming into season while others are going out of it.
Summer
Summer is the season for anago, horse mackerel, and suzuki. Rainy-season anago has soft flesh and gentle fat, and it is well suited to simmered anago. Sardines also gain fat in the rainy season and are called nyubai iwashi. Abalone and murasaki uni are also in season in summer. From June to August, young ginger, which is well suited for making gari (pickled ginger), comes to market, and shinko, the young of kohada, also appear. On the other hand, Pacific bluefin tuna loses its fat to spawning in summer, and its akami tastes sharply acidic. Summer is also the season when food poisoning from Vibrio parahaemolyticus is concentrated. After removing the scales and guts, wash the fish well under running water that is safe to drink before filleting it. Then put it back in the refrigerator right away (Chapter 3).
Autumn
Autumn is the season when fat returns. Modori-gatsuo in September and October, unlike hatsu-gatsuo in spring, is full of fat. Pacific saury (September to October) and ikura from autumn salmon (September to November) are also tastes of autumn. Madai recovers from the strain of spawning, gains fat again, and is called momiji-dai (autumn-leaf sea bream). Kohada, which were shinko in summer, grow and firm up, and gain fat from September to December. After the shin-ika that appear from late summer, full-grown sumi-ika come into season from October, and mackerel also begins to gain fat. However, Pacific saury and mackerel carry Anisakis. Do not let the seasonal fat distract you into skipping freezing or checking by eye.
Winter
Winter is the season of fat. Pacific bluefin tuna from Japanese coastal waters is rich in fat from November to February, and toro (fatty tuna) is at its most delicious. Kan-buri (December to February), kan-birame (November to February), and kan-saba bring together the fish named for the cold. Akagai and scallops (December to March) and sumi-ika (October to January) are also winter toppings. From late November into December, the first nori harvested that year (ichiban-tsumi, or first harvest) comes to market. This nori is soft, melts well in the mouth, and has a fine aroma. Winter is also the norovirus season. Be even stricter about handling bivalves, washing your hands, and managing your health.