FLOUNDERING

The website Food Sake Tokyo, which I don’t read as often as I probably should, has published a list of October Seasonal Seafood in Japan.

Are you ready for this?  I admit that I wasn’t.  

To start the ball rolling, this is what a fat greenling looks like, at least as an illustration:

The list is as follows: 

Ainame 鮎並 fat greenling (Hexagrammos otakii)

Aka garei 赤鰈flathead flounder (Hippoglossoides dubius)

Amaebi 甘海老sweet shrimp (Pandalus borealis)

Ankou  鮟鱇monkfish (Lophius litulon)

Asaba garei 浅羽鰈dusky sole (Lepidopsetta bilineata)

Asari 浅蜊Japanese little neck clam (Ruditapes philippinarum)

Awabi 鮑abalone (Haliotis sorenseni)

Babagarei 婆鰈slime flounder (Microstomus achne)

Baka gai 馬鹿貝surf clam (Mactra chinensis)

Benizuwai gani 紅頭矮蟹　red snow crab (Chionoecetes japonicus)

Botan ebi ボタンエビBotan shrimp  (Pandalus nipponesis)

Chidai  血鯛crimson sea bream (Evynnis japonica)

Hakkakuor tokubire 八角sailfin poacher (Podothecus sachi)

Hata hata 鰰  sailfin sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus)

Hime ezobora 姫蝦夷法螺  sea snail (Neptunea arthritica)

Hirame 鮃olive halibut (Paralichthys olivaceus)

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Hokkai ebi or hokkai shima ebi 北海海老Hokkai shrimp (Pandalus latirostris)

Hokke 𩸽arabesque greenling (Pleurogrammus azonus)

Hokki gai (uba gai) 姥貝hen clam (Pseudocardium sachalinense)

Hokkoku aka ebior amaebi 北国赤蝦 Alaskan pink shrimp (Pandalus borealis)

Hon maguro (or kuromaguro) 黒鮪bluefin tuna (Thunus thynnus)

Hotate gai 帆立貝 Japanese scallop (Mizuhopecten yessoensis)

Ibodai 疣鯛butterfish (Psenopsis anomala)

Inada いなだyoung amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata)

Itoyoridai 糸縒鯛  golden threadfin-bream (Nemipterus virgatus)

Kaki  牡蠣oyster (Crassostrea gigas)

Kamasu 大和叺barracuda (Sphyraena japonica)

Katsuo 鰹  skipjack tuna or oceanic bonito (Katsuwonus pelamis)

Kegani 毛蟹horsehair crab (Erimacrus isenbeckii)

Kemushi kajika毛虫鰍sea ravenor toubetsu kajika (Hemitripterus villosus)

Kinki or Kichiji 黄血魚thornhead (Sebastolobus macrochir)

Kinmedai 金目鯛  splendid alfonsino (Beryx splendens)

Kitsune mebaru狐目張or mazoi fox jacopever(Sebastes vulpes)

Kuro gashira garei 黒頭鰈cresthead flounder (Pleuronectes schrenki)

Kurosoi 黒曹以jacopever (Sebastes zonatusschlegeli)

Madako 真蛸octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

Madaraor tara 真鱈Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus)

Magarei 真鰈littlemouth flounder (Pleuronectes herzensteini)

Maguro  鮪tuna (Thunus thynnus)

Maiwashi or iwashi 真鰯spotline sardine  (Sardinops melanostictus)

Mako garei 真子鰈marbled flounder (Pleuronectes yokohamae)

Masaba or saba 真鯖 Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus)

Masu 鱒trout (there are many types of trout – see nijimasu, sakuramasu)

Matara or tara 真鱈  cod (Gadus macrocephalus)

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Matsukawa gareior tantaka or takanoha 松皮鰈barfin flounder (Verasper moseri)

Meji maguro    young Pacific bluefin tuna

Mizudako 水蛸North Pacific giant octopus (Octopus dofleini)

Muroaji 室鰺Brown-striped mackerel scad (Decapterus muroadsi)

Niji masu 虹鱒rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Nishin 鰊Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)

Numagareior wakagarei 沼鰈starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus)

Sake 鮭salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)

Sakura masu or yamame 桜鱒cherry salmon (Oncorhynchus masou maso)

Sanma 秋刀魚Pacific saury (Cololabis saira)

Sawara  鰆Japanese Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius)

Shako 蝦蛄mantis shrimp (Oratosquilla oratoria)

Shiira 粃mahi mahi (Coryphaena hippurus)

Shijimi 大和蜆corbicula clam (Corbicula japonica)

Shirauo 白魚icefish (Salangichthys microdon)

Shishamo 柳葉魚capelin (Spirinchus lanceolatus)

Souhachi 宗八鰈pointhead flounder (Cleishenes pinetorum)

Sukesou dara 鯳Alaska pollack (Theragra chalcogramma)

Suna garei 砂鰈sand flounder (Limanda punctatissima)

Surumeika 鯣烏賊Japanese flying squid (Todarodes pacificus)

Tachiuo 太刀魚cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus)

Tarabagani 鱈場蟹Alaska king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)

Tsubugai つぶ貝whelk  (Buccinum undatum)

Ugui 鯎Japanese dace (Tribolodon Hakonensis)

Unagi 鰻Japanese eel  (Anguilla japonica)

Wakasagi 若細魚Japanese smelt (Hypomesus nipponensis)

Warasa 鰤Japanese amberjack (Seriola quinqueradiata)

Yanagi no mai 柳の舞yellow rockfish (Sebastes steindachneri)

Of course I’d heard of many of these, and quite a few didn’t seem especially exotic.  Somehow I find it cheering to imagine Japanese gourmets eating whelks – they seem so English seaside.

But then there was a whole other world of (to me) previously unknown seafood wonders – many of which sounded very appealing: the flying squid, the olive halibut, the arabesque greenling – which is actually a mackerel, which doesn’t in itself sound all that exotic, but then you discover it looks like this:

I'm thinking the slime flounder could probably do with a name change, and frankly it looks much better in some pictures than others

But as for the splendid alfonsino it sounds just ace, and really does look the part: