Chef Takumi
Aji Fry (アジフライ, panko-fried horse mackerel)
Aji fry is weeknight fish with no mystery: fresh horse mackerel opened cleanly, breaded lightly, and fried until the panko crackles while the flesh stays sweet.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Salt-Grilled Shishamo (ししゃもの塩焼き, Shishamo no Shioyaki)
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Roe-bellied shishamo asks for almost nothing: a light hand with salt, a hot grill, and enough patience for the skin to blister while the tiny bones soften.
Main Dishes
Japanese
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Comfort Food
12 min
Active Time
8 min cook•20 min total
Yield2 servings
Awhole fish on the plate can make a new cook pause, especially when it is meant to be eaten head to tail. Shishamo is small enough to forgive you. The work is not carving or filleting. It is buying the right little fish, drying it well, and letting salt and fire do their plain work.
The best shishamo is an autumn fish from Hokkaidō, at its 旬 (shun), when the females carry roe. Most cooks outside Japan will meet capelin sold as karafuto shishamo. It grills well and gives that same quiet pop of eggs between the teeth, but it isn't hon-shishamo. Say that plainly and cook it honestly. Nothing is hidden here, not even the bones.
Shioyaki is the method, not the menu: salt and grill. The one detail that decides it is dryness. Pat the fish dry, salt it lightly, let the salt draw out surface water, then pat it dry again before it meets the grill. Wet skin turns limp and clings. Dry skin blisters, browns, and releases.
On the table this is not a grand centerpiece. It is the fish dish beside rice, miso soup, pickles, and a small mound of grated daikon with citrus. Three or five fish on a plate, heads lined left, plenty of empty stoneware showing around them. Leave it room, and the little fish looks exactly as it should: plain, direct, and a little braver than the cook needed to be.
Shishamo is a true Hokkaidō fish, Spirinchus lanceolatus, found along the island's Pacific coast and in rivers where it returns to spawn in autumn; the name is usually traced to Ainu words for willow-leaf fish, echoed by the kanji 柳葉魚. Mukawa in Iburi, Hokkaidō, is the best-known producing town, and its autumn catch became the standard for hon-shishamo. Because the native catch is small, capelin imported from the North Atlantic has been sold in Japan since the late twentieth century as karafuto shishamo, a useful stand-in but a different fish.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
whole shishamo or komochi shishamo
Quantity
6 to 8 small fish (about 250 to 300g)
thawed if frozen
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
use less if fish is already salted
neutral oil (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for the grate or foil
daikon
Quantity
1/2 cup grated
lightly squeezed
sudachi or lemon (optional)
Quantity
1 sudachi or 1/2 lemon
cut into wedges
soy sauce (optional)
Quantity
a few drops
for the grated daikon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole shishamo or komochi shishamothawed if frozen | 6 to 8 small fish (about 250 to 300g) |
| fine sea saltuse less if fish is already salted | 1/2 teaspoon |
| neutral oil (optional)for the grate or foil | 1 teaspoon |
| daikonlightly squeezed | 1/2 cup grated |
| sudachi or lemon (optional)cut into wedges | 1 sudachi or 1/2 lemon |
| soy sauce (optional)for the grated daikon | a few drops |
Equipment Needed
- •Japanese fish grill (yakizakana grill), or oven broiler
- •Wire rack over a tray, or crumpled and flattened foil
- •Thin fish spatula or long cooking chopsticks
- •Daikon grater, or the fine side of a box grater
Instructions
- 1
Choose the fish
Look for whole shishamo, preferably komochi shishamo, the roe-bellied females. True hon-shishamo from Hokkaidō is an autumn treat; outside Japan you'll usually find frozen karafuto shishamo, capelin, and it is a sensible stand-in if you name it honestly. The fish should smell clean and cold, with tight skin and rounded bellies, not torn ones. Thaw frozen fish overnight in the refrigerator on a rack so meltwater drains away.
If the package says the fish is already salted, use little or no added salt. For this dish, dryness matters more than a heavy hand. - 2
Dry and salt
Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the salt lightly over both sides and let the fish rest for 10 minutes, then pat dry again. Salt draws out surface water and lightly firms the skin, so the grill can blister it instead of making it cling to the grate. If your fish was sold pre-salted, skip the rest and simply dry it well.
Use less salt than seems dramatic. The roe and skin need seasoning, not a crust. - 3
Heat the grill
Heat a Japanese fish grill (yakizakana grill) or an oven broiler until fully hot. Set a rack 5 to 6 inches from the broiler element and oil the grate very lightly, or lay down crumpled, then flattened, lightly oiled foil. The small ridges keep the fish from lying in its own moisture, and the hot surface seizes the skin before it sticks.
- 4
Grill first side
Lay the fish in a single layer with a little space between them. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes, until the skin has brown freckles, the fins crisp at the edges, and the fish releases when nudged. Leave them alone while they cook. Small fish tear when fussed over, and torn bellies spill the roe.
If your fish grill heats from both sides, cook the fish without turning for 6 to 8 minutes, watching for blistered skin and firm bellies. - 5
Turn and finish
Turn each fish once with a thin spatula or long cooking chopsticks. Grill for 2 to 4 minutes more, until the second side is blistered, the body feels firm but not hard, and any roe visible at the belly looks set and granular. Pull the fish before the belly bursts wide. A small split is ordinary; a gaping split means the eggs stayed on the grill instead of your plate.
- 6
Plate and serve
Set three fish per plate, heads to the left and bellies facing you, with grated daikon and a wedge of sudachi or lemon at the side. Touch the daikon with a few drops of soy sauce if you like. Eat the fish whole, head to tail, while the skin is still crisp; the bones have softened because the fish is small and cooked dry. If a head or fin feels too firm, leave it. The table is not a courtroom.
Chef Tips
- •Ask the fishmonger what the fish actually is: hon-shishamo from Hokkaidō, or karafuto shishamo, which is capelin. Both can make a good plate, but only one is the Hokkaidō fish. The cooking does not change, but your understanding should.
- •For the roe-bellied version, look for komochi shishamo. The bellies should be round and taut, not broken. The eggs are the pleasure here, so handle the fish gently and turn it only once.
- •If the fish smells sour, harsh, or like ammonia, don't rescue it with sauce. Change the dish. Shioyaki has nothing to hide behind, and that is why it is good.
- •A Japanese fish grill is the neat tool. Under a broiler, crumpled and flattened foil is the useful stand-in: it lifts the fish just enough that the skin browns instead of sitting wet.
- •Keep the daikon and soy quiet. The grated daikon cleans the mouth after the rich roe, and the soy should only darken it in spots. Drowning the fish is how a simple thing becomes busy.
Advance Preparation
- •Frozen shishamo can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator on a rack set over a tray. Keep it uncovered for the last hour if your refrigerator is clean; the surface dries slightly and grills better.
- •Grated daikon can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated. Squeeze it lightly just before serving so it stays fluffy rather than watery.
- •Grill the fish just before eating. Leftovers keep for 1 day refrigerated and can be rewarmed under a broiler, but the skin will not return to its first crispness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 145g)
Calories
225 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
260 mg
Sodium
720 mg
Total Carbohydrates
2 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
29 g
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