Sanma-sushi - Saury sushi

Nanki-Kumano offers a unique take on saury dishes. Generally in Japan, fatty saury is considered the most desirable. However, this region’s saury sushi features a lighter, more refreshing fish. The key lies in using saury that have shed some fat as they migrate south during the fall and winter. 

Here, the saury is split open from the belly, with the head still intact. They are then marinated in “daidai” juice, a citrus fruit known for its refreshing sour flavor. Finally, the marinated fish is placed on top of long, thin pieces of sushi rice, preserving the saury’s original shape.
The famous writer Haruo Sato, a native of Shingu, begins his poem “Song of the Pacific saury” with a description of the interesting eating habits related to Pacific saury in this region: Autumn breeze, if you have a mercy, please tell this to her: Here is a man who eats a saury alone for dinner today and indulges in reminiscing. It was a custom in the man’s hometown to sprinkle the sour juice of a green tangerine on the saury. I wonder if the woman, who found the custom funny, might have picked a few green tangerines and served them for dinner sometimes, reminiscing about him. The saury in this poem is grilled saury. In Japan, grilled saury is typically enjoyed with a squeeze of lemon or another tart citrus. In his region, there is a bit of a unique custom to eat it with the juice of unripe green tangerines. These unripe tangerines, naturally sweeter than lemons, add a unique layer of flavor to the dish.

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