Saba shioyaki time! Okay, so you’ve already learned how to make salmon shioyaki, and you’ve all learned how to clean and cut saba (mackerel), now we can combine those two techniques to make the incredibly easy and delicious dish. saba shioyaki.
This is a really simple recipe, so let’s get started. You can buy mackerel fresh and have the fishmonger clean it for you if you don’t want to do it yourself.
What you need
- Special Equipment
- Sheet of aluminium foil
- Baking sheet
- Ingredients
- Fresh saba (mackerel) fillet
- Salt (I use sea salt)
- Oil (Optional for this one because saba is very oily)
What to do
Step 1 – Turn your oven/broiler on high. Fold the edges up on a sheet of aluminium foil to prevent oil from running onto the baking sheet. Lay the foil on the baking sheet. You may lightly oil it if you wish, but I don’t for this recipe. Pat the mackerel fillets dry with a paper towel.
Step 2 – Cut your mackerel fillets into pieces if you wish. I do this so they will fit in my bentos for the week. Lay, skin side up, on the sheet of aluminium foil.
Step 3 – Salt the skin of the mackerel well and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. Place baking sheet with the salted fish into the hot oven or about 4 inches from the broiler.
Step 4 – Check it after 5 minutes, then every two minutes. I like to wait for the salt to brown and the edges of the fish to crisp slightly. Broil/bake until desired and pull out of the oven to cool. Serve with steamed rice and ponzu or lime.
Some things of note…
Saba is very bony. If I am serving guests, I try to remove the bones during the cleaning process. It has a very intense fishy flavor, so it only needs light seasoning. Citrus works best for saba shioyaki in my opinion.
If you have tried making this recipe or are already a longtime fan of it, please share in the comments section! Also, if you like this website, check out EatingJapan! on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @EatingJapan. いただきます！
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Thanks for the great post! I plan to make some salt mackerel like this tonight!
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Thanks so much for posting this! My local asian grocery store carries mackeral and I have been wanting to give it a try but did not know how to prepare it!
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Mathias Purtlebaugh Reply:
June 28th, 2011 at 11:06 am
Good luck! Let me know how it goes :)
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I made this tonight — delicious! Served with soy sauce mixed with grated ginger — yum! — rice and spinach.
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Mathias Purtlebaugh Reply:
July 5th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Oh, good! It’s about time for me to make it again soon as well… soo good :)
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I love to order saba shioyaki at a restaurant but never thought about making it myself. My son and I happened to see it on sale at the Japanese grocer and thought that we could try. We followed your recipe and wow! It was so delicious and so easy that we want to try to get to the grocer more often (it is quite a distance) to eat it more often. I was a little worried of stinking up the closed up house in winter, so I put my toaster oven outside my back door and broiled it outside. It was accompanied by daikon oroshi and tamari. Next time will have some citrus ready.
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I just made this – so simple, yet delicious! had it with brown rice and miso vegetables. thanks for sharing!
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i am following the directions. simple. we are using the salt we brought from miyaka jima. the flavor of mak at a restaurant is great, but as long as my wife says i’m the best cook in the world then we are using your recipe.
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Mathias Purtlebaugh Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 8:40 am
The recipe *is* simple, and elegant, and I’m glad you and your wife enjoy it. I’m curious; what kind of salt are you using?
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