Yuzu-Marinated Grilled Spanish Mackerel (鰆の幽庵焼き, Sawara no Yūanyaki)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Fish grill or broiler
• •Shallow nonreactive container or zip-top bag
• •Pastry brush or small Japanese hake brush
• •Fish spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the fish

   Pat the sawara dry and sprinkle both sides lightly with the salt. Rest it on a tray for 20 minutes, then wipe away the moisture that beads on the surface. This is not to make the fish salty. It draws out fishy surface moisture and tightens the flesh so the marinade enters cleanly.

2. 2

   Mix the tare

   Stir together the shōyu, mirin, and sake in equal parts until the mixture is even. Add the sliced yuzu. The soy seasons, the mirin gives gloss and quiet sweetness, and the sake keeps the finish lighter than soy alone. The yuzu perfumes the tare without turning it sharp.

3. 3

   Marinate two days

   Lay the fish in a shallow nonreactive container or a zip-top bag and pour in the tare with the yuzu slices. Press out excess air, cover, and refrigerate for 48 hours, turning the fish once or twice. The long rest seasons the thick fillets evenly, but keep them cold and submerged so the flavor stays clean.

   Use fresh sawara with a glistening surface and no strong smell. If the fish is tired, change the dish. Yūan tare is graceful, not a disguise.
4. 4

   Prepare to grill

   Lift the fish from the tare and wipe it nearly dry. Strain and reserve a little marinade for brushing, then discard the rest. Let the fillets sit at cool room temperature for 15 minutes while you heat the grill or broiler. Wiping matters because wet mirin burns quickly; a dry surface cooks first, then takes on gloss.

5. 5

   Grill gently

   Oil the grill grate or line a broiler pan with foil. Grill skin-side first over medium heat, or broil 5 to 6 inches from the heat, until the edges turn opaque and the surface begins to color. Turn carefully and cook until the flesh flakes in broad, moist layers, about 8 to 12 minutes total depending on thickness.

6. 6

   Brush and finish

   During the last 2 minutes, brush on a thin coat of the reserved tare, let it set, then brush once more. Keep the coats thin. You want a soy-dark lacquer-like sheen with the scent of yuzu, not a blackened sugar crust. Serve with a strip of fresh yuzu peel.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for sawara when it is in shun, especially spring fish from western Japan if your market can get it. If sawara is unavailable, choose another fresh, firm, mild white fish, but don't call it sawara. The method will work; the fish has changed.
• •Use real mirin if you can, not a corn-syrup seasoning bottle. Mirin is doing more than sweetening here. It gives the tare its polish and helps the final glaze sit softly on the fish.
• •A fish grill, yakiam網, or broiler all work. The honest stand-in is a foil-lined broiler pan set close enough to color the surface without scorching it.
• •Make this for guests because the work happens ahead. On the day itself, you only wipe, grill, and brush. That is the useful kind of elegance.

Advance Preparation

• •The fish should marinate for 48 hours under refrigeration. Turn it once or twice so the tare seasons it evenly.
• •After grilling, the fish can rest at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Yūanyaki is often served warm rather than fiercely hot.
• •Do not keep raw fish in the used marinade beyond the planned two days. Discard the spent tare unless it has been boiled thoroughly for another use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 115g)