November 25, 2012

Saba no Miso Ni (Mackerel Simmered in Miso)/さばの味噌煮

I made saba no miso ni as part of supper tonight.
Saba = Mackerel
No = 's
Ni < Niru (to simmer)
今日の夕飯は、さばの味噌煮を作りました。

First, cut an x on the skin of each of four slices of saba.
Then, pour boiling water over them to remove odor.  This step is called shimofuri (lit. frosting).
Shimofuri can also mean marbled/marbling, as in shimofuri niku (marbled meat).
Place in a frying pan, and add: 
175 ml water
25 ml sake
1 knob ginger, sliced

Then, I decided to add mirin (about 50 ml), not sugar, to the pan.

Put on an otoshi buta (lit. drop lid) or something similar (aluminum foil or paper towels), and put on a lid.  Simmer for 2-3 min.  Add some miso (2-3 tbsp) to the pan.  Simmer for another 5 min. or so.

まずは、4枚のさばの切り身の皮それぞれにXの切れ目を入れます。
次に、熱湯をかけて、臭みを取ります。これを霜降りと言います。
霜降りは、霜降り肉など、marbled/marblingという意味もあります。
フライパンに入れ、以下のものも入れます:
水 175 ml
お酒 25 ml
薄切りした生姜 ひとかけ

それから、砂糖ではなくみりんを(約50 ml)入れることにしました。

落し蓋や類似した物(アルミホイルやキッチンペーパー)を載せ、蓋をします。2~3分煮ます。味噌を少し(大さじ2~3)入れます。さらに5分程度煮ます。

I tasted the liquid before adding additional miso, and decided not to add any more miso.
味噌を足す前に汁を味見して、味噌は足さないことにしました。
The resultant saba no miso ni was much less sweet and salty than canned.
出来上がったさばの味噌煮は、缶詰のより砂糖も塩分も控えめです。


4 comments:

Fräulein Trude said...

Mackerel is a very delicious fish but it stinks a lot, disgusting. That is the reason why I don't pepare it that often (have to cut the fillets on my own). But I am really willing to make this miso simmered Mackerel too.

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: Miso ni is one of the most popular saba dishes in Japan. I checked my own blog and found that I already posted about this dish in 2008:
http://hiro-shio.blogspot.jp/2008/06/mackerel-simmered-in-miso.html

Saba goes very well with miso and ginger.

Sissi said...

I made saba no miso several times, but I always simmered it for hours... Was it the wrong way? It tasted delicious though! I love saba. Have you ever tasted it smoked? It's a pure delicacy! I prefer it much more than smoked salmon (unless it's wild, which is difficult to get). Highly praised in Central and Eastern Europe and I am lucky to get it here too!

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: I have read about your saba no miso ni in your blog. There is nothing wrong in your way, because you want to cook it long enough to soften even the small bones in it.

I understand that most recipes say to simmer for about 20 minutes or so, but I am a type of person that hates to cook longer than necessary.

I haven't tasted smoked mackerel. It sounds delicious! Sadly, smoking is less common in Japan.