Buri no Teriyaki (鰤の照り焼き, yellowtail teriyaki)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy skillet, or a fish grill (yakizakana grill)
• •Flat fish spatula
• •Tongs or long cooking chopsticks
• •Paper towels for wiping the fish and pan

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the buri

   Set the buri on a tray and sprinkle both sides lightly with the salt. Leave it for 10 minutes, just until beads of moisture appear on the surface. Wipe the fish very dry with paper towels. The salt draws out surface moisture and any rough aroma, and the wiping gives you the dry face you need for browning.

   If the fish smells strong after salting and wiping, don't hide it under tare. Cook a different fish dish, or buy better buri another day.
2. 2

   Mix the tare

   Stir together the shōyu, mirin, sake, and sugar until the sugar mostly dissolves. This is the tare, the glaze. Have it ready before the fish goes into the pan, because once the surface is browned you don't want to stand there measuring while the fish overcooks.

3. 3

   Sear it dry

   Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Lay the buri in presentation-side down, the side you want facing up on the plate, and leave it alone for 2 to 3 minutes until the surface is golden. Turn it carefully and sear the second side for 1 to 2 minutes. You're building color before the sugar arrives, because sugar browns fast and burns faster.

4. 4

   Wipe the pan

   Lower the heat to medium. If the buri has released a lot of fat, use tongs and a folded paper towel to wipe most of it from the pan, leaving the fish in place. Oil makes the tare slide around instead of clinging, and a clean pan gives you a clean glaze. Add the ginger slices now if using.

5. 5

   Glaze in stages

   Pour half the tare around the fish, not directly over the browned surface. It should bubble in small, quick beads. Tilt the pan and spoon the sauce over the fish for about 1 minute, then add the remaining tare and keep basting. Staging the sauce gives the fish time to finish cooking before the sugar gets too dark.

   Watch the bubbles. Small and quick means the sauce is still thin. Large, slow, glossy bubbles mean the tare is nearly ready.
6. 6

   Finish and serve

   Lift the fish out as soon as the sauce is glossy and the flesh yields to a chopstick without falling apart, usually 2 to 3 minutes after the tare goes in. If the sauce thickens before the fish is ready, add 1 teaspoon water or sake and keep the heat moderate. If the fish is ready before the sauce shines, take the fish out and reduce the sauce alone for a few breaths, then spoon it over. Serve with hajikami and rice.

Chef Tips

• •Buy buri in winter if you can, especially kanburi, winter yellowtail with clean fat under the skin. The flesh should look glistening fresh and smell faintly sweet, not sharp. Sourcing first, always.
• •Don't marinate the fish for this version. Long soaking makes the surface wet and salty, then the sugar in the tare burns before the fish browns. Salt, wipe, sear, then glaze. That is enough.
• •A fish grill is the old spirit of teriyaki, but a heavy skillet is a sensible home stand-in. The important thing is staged glazing over moderate heat, not the romance of the tool.
• •If good buri isn't available, use another firm, oily fish honestly and call it what it is. Sawara in spring or salmon on a weeknight can take this method well, but they are not buri.

Advance Preparation

• •The tare can be mixed up to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Stir it before using, because the sugar settles.
• •You can salt and wipe the fish up to 30 minutes before cooking, then keep it chilled and uncovered on a tray. Longer than that and the salt begins to cure the surface.
• •Cook buri no teriyaki just before serving. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated, but the fish will be firmer; flake it over rice rather than pretending it is the same dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)