【Reading】もみじだい

【English Name】Autumn Sea Bream

"Momijidai" (autumn-foliage sea bream) is an alternative name for red sea bream (madai) landed from early autumn into early winter. The fishing season overlaps with the time when the trees turn red and yellow, and this name was given accordingly. The other peak season (shun) of red sea bream is spring, and that one is known by the name "sakuradai" (cherry-blossom sea bream).

Having vigorously fed in preparation for winter, momijidai has fat thoroughly permeating its entire body. In sharp contrast with sakuradai, whose hallmark is the light flesh quality before spawning, its hallmark is the deep umami brought by its dense fat.

The standard at sushi restaurants is nigiri, but many establishments also serve it kelp-cured (kobujime). It is a delicacy by which one can savor a rich thickness of fat, of a different orientation from sakuradai.

Originally, "momiji" refers to the phenomenon of broadleaf trees vividly changing color in autumn, and it has long been beloved as a theme of waka poetry and Japanese painting. In the culinary realm too, it has taken root as a word symbolizing autumn, and culinary expressions clad in a seasonal feel, such as "momiji-oroshi," are too numerous to count.