Grilled
Sanma no Popo-yaki
Sanma no popo-yaki — minced saury patties grilled the way fishermen ate them at sea
Autumn saury are minced bones and all, mixed with miso, ginger, scallion, and potato starch, formed into patties, and grilled until browned — a fisherman's dish of Iwaki. The name is said to come from the popping sound the fish's oil made flaring up over charcoal on deck.
- Origin: Fukushima Iwaki
- About 180 km northeast of Tokyo
What it's made of
Ground saury, mixed with miso, ginger, and scallion, is shaped like a patty and grilled in this dish from Iwaki. It balances the rich, fatty savoriness distinctive to saury with the flavor of miso and ginger. The name, which evokes a popping sound, is said to come from the fat sizzling and popping as it's grilled over charcoal.
How it's made
Prepped saury is finely minced by hand with a knife, mixed with miso, ginger, chopped scallion, and potato starch, then shaped into patties, the basic method. It's grilled in an oven or pan until browned, the finishing step. It's said to have originated as a dish fishermen made quickly aboard their boats between hauls.
Why it took this shape
Iwaki, home to the fishing ports known as the Iwaki Nanahama, sees a heavy autumn catch of fresh saury, and this dish is said to have developed as a way for fishermen to cook it quickly aboard ship. Mincing and shaping the fish into patties before grilling is thought to reflect the practicality of cooking with the limited tools available out at sea.
Dishes in the same style
- Abutte KamoSmall damselfish are salted overnight, then grilled whole, scales and innards left on — a bony fish often passed over elsewhere, but said to have caught on in Hakata Bay after a Meiji-era glut led someone to salt and grill the excess.
- Gohei MochiFreshly cooked non-glutinous rice is pounded, pressed flat on a skewer, and grilled with a miso glaze. Said to have originated in the mountainous Chubu region, it's traditionally made the night before a festival praying for safety in mountain work.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Fukushima
- Aizu RamenFlat, thick hand-made noodles in a clear soy broth. Said to trace back to a Aizuwakamatsu diner owner bringing home a taste learned in Yokohama — a second soy ramen lineage that grew up apart from Kitakata's, in the same Aizu region.
- Aizu Curry YakisobaA dish from Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima: sauce yakisoba topped with curry roux. It's said to trace to a diner called Tommy Food, which began ladling curry over its yakisoba, catching on especially among young diners for its low price and filling size.
- Aizu GyuSteers and heifers of Japanese Black raised in the Aizu basin, fed mainly local rice straw — the basin's sharp seasonal swings are said to suit fattening, making it Fukushima's leading brand.
- Aizu JidoriA lineage said to have been brought to Aizu by Heike clan refugees, saved from near-extinction and re-established through crossbreeding by Fukushima prefecture; reportedly fattened for 90 to 170 days.
- Aizu Sōsu KatsudonAizu's sauce katsudon, doused in a thick sweet-savory sauce. Its origin has several competing accounts, none settled, but all point to it being refined through everyday improvisation on Taisho-era Western food.
- Aizu Yamajio RamenSalt ramen seasoned with mountain salt drawn from hot-spring water — rounder than sea salt.