Saba shioyaki - grilled mackerel recipe

 

A Japanese work colleague once told me that Japanese cooking is about bringing the flavour out of the food rather than creating complicated sauces to cover the taste of the food. This simple recipe called "saba shioyaki" demonstrates the Japanese way of cooking using only salt and letting the mackerel do the rest of the work. I'd encourage you to buy mackerel fillets from your local fishmonger to make sure that you get really fresh ones. Mackerel is known for not staying fresh for long.

I love cooking mackerel at home because it's really tasty and cheap! I bought these mackerel fillets for just over €3 from my local fishmonger.

This recipe will take a few minutes to prepare and then less than ten minutes to cook.

Ingredients:
Sea salt
Fresh mackerel fillets
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Instructions:

1. Generously season the mackerel fillets with sea salt on both sides.

2. Pour vegetable oil into a non stick frying pan and set the heat medium to high.

3. Once the pan is hot place the mackerel fillets on the pan skin side down and fry for a few minutes depending on the size. Then turn over and cook the other side for another few minutes until cooked through. The skin should be nice and crispy.

4. Serve with a salad or with rice and vegetables. Traditionally in Japan saba shioyaki is served with grated daikon (mooli) and soy sauce.
 

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