Shishamo

I'd been meaning to write this here -- back in February we visited in Japan and we had a lot of great foods I've never had. But the one that really impressed me was grilled Shishamo. They're river smelt, and the restaurant picked females with egg sacs inside. Absolutely delicious, crispy grilled outside and soft, delicate inside. You eat the whole thing, from tip to tail. We had smelt where I grew up but they never tasted this good. We just bought some frozen ones here and grilled them up. It wasn't as good as the oens we had in Japan but was still good.

I recommend!

Shishamo are from sea if I remember correctly. (Or they could be like salmon that return to river to spawn.)

fugue said:

Shishamo are from sea if I remember correctly. (Or they could be like salmon that return to river to spawn.)

Click to expand...

I see, I can easily believe that I mixed up the explanation cause I miss alot speaking Japanese. So that must be why our Michigan smelt don't taste nearly so good.

Spirinchus lanceolatus

It is said that 90% of shishamo sold in the market is actually capelin (Mallotus villosus.)