Sakuraba-yaki / grilled fish in cherry leaves

A grilled fish dish for spring. The fish is wrapped with salted cherry leaves for some time before grilling, so that it takes on an aroma that reminds of the season. That said, this would seem awkward outside the cherry blossom season if served as part of Japanese cuisine.

As with many other grilled fish dishes in old-style Japanese cooking, preparation does not use oil, and this works best with very fresh, somewhat fatty white-fleshed fish. Below is an example with lingcod. Lean fish tends to be too dry with this method, but if that is the only kind available, serving with gin-an thickened dashi sauce can be a tasty solution.

Sakura no iimushi / steamed sweet rice and fish with salted cherry leaves

A reminder of the season. A gentle taste combination of sweet rice and white fish steamed with  aromatic salted cherry leaves.  Slightly salty gin-an sauce brings everything together, including the pungent wasabi on top.

Sakura no ha no shiozuke / salted cherry leaves

When salted, cherry leaves develop a unique tangy aroma and taste. Salted cherry leaves are an ingredient -- often used as a wrapper -- in confectioneries and meals that are especially popular in springtime. For commercial producers, Oshimazakura (Cerasus speciosa [Koidz.] H.Ohba) is the flowering cherry tree of choice for leaves, as Oshimazakura’s leaves are known for their tenderness. However, you can use the leaves of any cherry tree (so far I have only tried flowering cherry trees).