Species sheet · The Edible Ocean
Olive flounder
Convinced it has just been spotted.
- As sashimi, thinly sliced
- Engawa, the fin muscle, grilled
- Fried as karaage
- In French
- Hirame
- Scientific name
- Paralichthys olivaceus
- In the water
- Sandy bottoms off Japan, Korea and China, from 10 to 200 metres.
- Season & buying
- Winter, the kan-birame season, when the flesh is richest.
- Common length
- ~45 cm
- How to identify it
- Both eyes on the left side
Large mouth reaching past the eyes
Scattered pale blotches on the upper side
On the plate
White, firm, clean flesh, the benchmark white fish for sashimi in Japan.
Avoid: Throwing away the fin edge. Engawa is the most sought-after part.
Japanese cooks tell it from its cousin the karei with a mnemonic: hirame faces left, karei faces right, depending on which side the eyes sit when the fish is laid out in front of you.
In Umay recipes
One Umay recipe calls for it.
