Like many Japanese of my generation, I cannot go a week without proper Japanese-style meal, and a simple yet decent fish dish is a must on the menu. This Saba Misoni (鯖の味噌煮), basically mackerel simmered in miso, is one that never fails to satisfy my cravings.
What is Saba Misoni
Saba (鯖) means mackerel in Japanese. Misoni (味噌煮) or miso-ni is a cooking style where an ingredient is simmered in miso-based sauce. Because of the stronger flavor, blue-backed fish (青身魚) typically goes well with miso-based sauce. This type of fish includes mackerel, horse mackerel, sardine, and pacific saury (or sanma). Also, any oily fish or fish scraps like tuna scraps, are good with miso-based sauce. On the other hand, white flesh fish such as sea bream, yellowtail, sablefish, flatfish, or splendid alfonsino, are good with soy-based sauce.
How to Cook Saba Misoni
Ingredients You’ll Need
MackerelGingerJapanese condiments – sake, mirin, miso, soy sauce, and sugar
Overview: Cooking Process
Blanch mackerel – I’ll tell you more about this!Cook the mackerel in the miso sauce.Let cool and reheat to serve!
5 Tips on Making Saba Misoni
1. Blanch the mackerel first.
This is an extra step, but it’s important to clean the impurities (like blood) and remove any fishy smell and sliminess. This process is called Shimofuri (霜降り) in Japanese, and it’s a common technique for preparing fish. The ice bath also firms up the flesh which helps retain the flavor of the fish.
2. Don’t skip sake.
Sake not only remove the odor while evaporating alcohol, but it is also known to make the flesh of the fish plump, juicy, and tender.
3. Add miso in 2 separate times.
Miso loses its flavor while cooking for a long time; therefore, add the second half of the miso after simmering.
4. Tilt the pot around to mix and distribute.
Simmered dishes are typically cooked with very little sauce with otoshibuta (drop lid) on top. If you are new to this Japanese cooking tool, click here to learn about it (what it is, why we use it, where to buy or how to make your own, etc). When you add the miso for the second time along with soy sauce, the best way to mix all together is to gently tilt the pot around to distribute the sauce, instead of mixing with a ladle or utensil.
5. Let cool for 30 minutes.
All the simmered dishes taste the best when they are cooled and reheated. While cooling down, the ingredients absorb all the delicious savory flavors.
What to Serve With Saba Misoni
This homestyle, rich-tasting mackerel is going to be the main star of your Ichiju Sansai, but it is still delicious with steamed rice alone. Any small side dishes such as pickles, soups, and salads make a welcome accompaniment. Here are some of my favorite sides that I like to round up the whole experience:
Vegetable Miso SoupMiso Soup with Yuzu KoshoGobo Salad (Burdock Root Salad)Cucumber SaladTomato Myoga SaladJapanese Pickled Cabbage or Pickled Daikon
Other Delicious Fish Recipes on Just One Cookbook:
Braised AlfonsinoCantonese Steamed Fish
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on June 8, 2011. The images, the blog content, and the recipe have been updated in June 2021. The video is also added in June 2021.
