Appetisers, which are often highly decorative fish and vegetables with a dressing of sesame seeds, bean paste, or vinegar. In a kaiseki menu, aemono are side-dishes or salads chosen to complement the other dishes. They may appear at the beginning of the meal in the form of appetisers called sakizuki, but they might also accompany a grilled dish or be served on the hassun (a tray containing delicacies from the land and sea.) The ingredients used in aemono are seasonal items and they are dressed with various sauces, one of which is miso, mashed tofu or egg yolk, vinegar and seasoning. Special care is taken to ensure that the dressing of the aemono helps to bring out the flavours of the main dish.
