Aemono are highly decorative, cooked salads of seasonal ingredients, such as fish and vegetables, with a dressing complimentary to the ingredients and to the dish which is accompanied. The dressings might consist of sesame seeds, bean paste, miso, or seasoned vinegar and are often based on puréed tofu. In a kaiseki menu, aemono are side-dishes or salads carefully chosen to compliment 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). Special care is taken to ensure that the dressing of the aemono helps to bring out the flavours of the main dish.
