June 10, 2013

Iwashi no Ume Ni (Sardines Simmered with Umeboshi/いわしの梅煮

As part of supper tonight, my wife made iwashi no ume ni (sardines simmered with umeboshi).
I asked her how she made it. She replied she used soy sauce, mirin, a small amount of instant dashi (optional), umeboshi, and ginger (and water, I suppose) to simmer four sardines, previously beheaded and gutted by me.
今日の夕飯には、妻がいわしの梅煮を作りました。どうやって作ったかと尋ねると、しょう油、みりん、出汁の素を少し(省略可)、梅干し、しょうが(それとたぶん、水)でいわしを四尾煮たそうです。いわしは私がすでに頭とはらわたを取ったものです。
 
For those of you who want to make this dish, here is a list of ingredients from one recipe (Japanese only):
4 sardines
2 umeboshi (low-salt)
1/2 knob ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
Soy sauce to mirin ratio = 1:1
1 cup (= 200 ml) water
この料理を作りたい人のために、このレシピの材料をリストアップします。
いわし 4尾
梅干し 2個(低塩)
しょうが 1/2片
しょう油 大さじ1
みりん 大さじ1
(しょう油とみりんの割合 = 1:1)
水 1カップ(= 200 ml)
My wife's portion:
妻の分:
Bent because previously beheaded and gutted by me and stored in a bag in the partial freezing compartment of the fridge.
私が頭とはらわたを落とし、冷蔵庫のパーシャル冷凍庫に袋に入れてしまっていたので、少し曲がっています。 
 
My daughter's:
娘の分:
Best-looking of the four.
四尾の中で一番見栄えがいいです。
 
As the summer approaches, we crave for sour and refreshing dishes like this.
夏が近づき、こんな酸っぱくてさっぱりしたものが欲しくなります。

11 comments:

Sissi said...

It sounds really good! There is nothing better than sour food (or drink!) when it's hot. Do you think I could use bainiku paste instead? I have to finish the big package I bought a long time ago...

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: I'm not sure but I think you could. Actually, my wife used the ume katsuo (umeboshi with some salt removed + mirin + katsuobushi) that I had previously made for my son's bento.
I hope you try the recipe. By using umeboshi and ginger, any fishy smell of sardines will be gone!

Sissi said...

Thank you! I will make experiments (especially when the knife finally arrives and cutting fish will be easier ;-) ).

muskratbyte said...

I can't really get low-salt umeboshi. Do you think it would be sufficient to soak the umeboshi in water to remove some of the salt? I may try this with mackeral. I can't get decent fresh sardines.

Fräulein Trude said...

This looks so good. I like sweet sour salty dishes the most. Gonna buy some sardines soon.

Hiroyuki said...

muskratbyte: Yes, exactly. Simply soak your umeboshi in water for some time.

Kiki: Simmer for 20-40 min. on low heat, with an otoshi-buta (drop lid), so you can eat them whole.

Yangsze said...

Looks delicious!

Hiroyuki said...

Yangsze: Thanks! And, it's delicious and sappari (refreshing)!

Sissi said...

Hiroyuki (sorry for treating you again as my Japanese teacher ;-) I sometimes try to read the hiragana and katakana parts of your Japanese texts and it's a good exercise), can I say "sappari" of a drink too? Like the famous "sawaa" for example? (Though for me it would be rather less feminine shochu rokku with these huge square ice I dream of...).

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: Yes, of course, as in:
sappari shita sawa
さっぱりしたサワー
Kono sawa wa sappari shiteru.
このサワーはさっぱりしてる。

Sissi said...

Arigatou gozaimasu, sensei! You are a very good Japanese teacher! I think I will exercise with your Japanese texts more often. Only this week I learnt at least twenty very useful new words!