Mackerel Simmered in Miso
Cuisine: Japanese
Region: 日本各地
Servings: 2人分
Mackerel Simmered in Miso is a home-style seafood dish. The hot-water "shimofuri" rinse greatly tames mackerel's fishiness. Ingredients and step-by-step instructions are below, with notes for home cooking.
Ingredients
- Mackerel (fillets, half-side cut in half) 2 pieces (about 200 g)
- Ginger 1 knob (15 g)
- Negi (Japanese long onion) 1/2 stalk
- [Simmering liquid] Water 150 ml
- [Simmering liquid] Sake 50 ml
- [Simmering liquid] Sugar 1½ Tbsp
- [Simmering liquid] Mirin 1 Tbsp
- [Simmering liquid] Soy sauce 1 tsp
- Miso 2 Tbsp (about 36 g)
Steps
- Score the skin of each mackerel piece with a shallow cross (or one diagonal cut). Set them in a colander, pour hot water over them, then immediately transfer to cold water. Gently rub off slime and blood with your fingers and pat dry.
- Slice half the ginger thinly; shred the rest into fine needles and soak in water (hari-shoga). Cut the negi into 4 cm lengths.
- In a shallow pan large enough for the mackerel in a single layer, add the simmering-liquid ingredients and the ginger slices. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Lay in the mackerel skin-side up and add the negi. When it returns to a boil, skim the foam, cover with a foil drop-lid, and simmer over medium-low heat for 8 minutes.
- Put the miso in a small bowl, thin it with a little cooking liquid until smooth, remove the drop-lid, and pour the miso into the pan.
- Spoon the sauce over the fish and cook 5–6 minutes more until the liquid thickens slightly. Watch the heat after adding miso—it scorches easily.
- Plate the mackerel and negi, spoon plenty of sauce over them, and top with the drained ginger needles.
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Notes
The hot-water "shimofuri" rinse greatly tames mackerel's fishiness. It's an extra step, but don't skip it.
Add the miso only at the end so its aroma stays bright and doesn't cook away.
A little red miso deepens the flavor; white miso makes it sweeter and milder. Adjust with whatever miso you have.
The flavors settle as it cools, so it keeps well as a make-ahead side or bento dish.
Origin and history
Mackerel simmered in miso is a sweet-savory nitsuke of mackerel cooked with sugar, sake, and miso—a staple of Japanese home tables and set-meal restaurants.
Mackerel has long been plentiful in Japanese coastal waters, but its rich oil makes it spoil quickly (hence the saying "saba no iki-gusare," that mackerel goes bad while still alive). Cooking it with miso and ginger softens the smell and pairs the oily flesh with miso's depth—a practical method that took root widely.
Miso type and sweetness vary by region: some households finish it rich with red miso, others mild with white. Fatty autumn-to-winter mackerel tastes especially good.