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Saba Shioyaki Recipe: How to Make Japanese Grilled Mackerel

Name: Saba Shioyaki Recipe: How to Make Japanese Grilled Mackerel
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 2 mackerel fillets (from 1 whole fish); 2 tablespoons sake; Sea salt, to taste; ¼ cup shredded daikon radish, to serve; Soy sauce, to serve; 2 lemon wedges, to serve

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Feb 17, 2024 • 1 min read

Learn how to make saba shioyaki, a quick, flavorful fish recipe that’s a staple of Japanese cuisine.

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What Is Saba Shioyaki?

In Japanese cooking, saba shioyaki is salt-grilled mackerel seasoned with sake. Saba means “mackerel,” shio translates to “salt,” and yaki is the Japanese word for “grilled.” In Japan, saba shioyaki is traditionally grilled, but you can also make it in the oven, stovetop, or toaster oven for a quick weeknight dinner. Leftover saba shioyaki can be used to stuff onigiri (rice balls). At Japanese restaurants, this seafood dish is often served as an entree or as part of a bento with miso soup, rice, and tsukemono (Japanese pickles).

Japanese Saba Shioyaki Recipe

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makes

prep time

30 min

total time

50 min

cook time

20 min

Ingredients

2 mackerel fillets (from 1 whole fish)
2 tablespoons sake
Sea salt, to taste
¼ cup shredded daikon radish, to serve
Soy sauce, to serve
2 lemon wedges, to serve

1
Cut each fillet in half crosswise, and place skin-side-up in a shallow bowl.
2
Cover the fillets with sake.
3
Generously sprinkle salt over both sides of each fillet and let sit for 20 minutes.
4
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
5
Pat fish dry with paper towels and transfer to the sheet pan skin-side down.
6
Bake on the lower rack until fish is just cooked through, about 15 minutes.
7
Flip the fish over so that the skin side is up, and bake on the top rack until golden brown and slightly crispy, about 2–5 minutes.
8
Serve hot with a side of shredded daikon, soy sauce, and lemon wedges.

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