← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 6 horse mackerel (aji) fillets, butterflied, or small mackerel fillets (about 350 g)
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Black pepper
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 1 Eggs, beaten
• 100 g Panko breadcrumbs
• 750 ml neutral oil, for deep-frying
• ¼ green cabbage, finely shredded
• ½ Lemon, cut into wedges
• 3 tbsp tonkatsu sauce or tartare sauce

Method

1. Run your fingers over the fillets and pull out any pin bones with tweezers. Pat dry, season with salt and pepper and leave for 10 min, then pat dry again.
2. Coat each fillet in flour, then beaten egg, then press it into the panko on both sides until well covered.
3. Heat about 3 cm of oil in a deep frying pan to 180°C (355°F).
4. Fry 2–3 fillets at a time, skin side down first, for 2–3 min per side until crisp and golden. The thin fillets cook through quickly.
5. Drain on a wire rack and serve hot with cabbage, lemon and tonkatsu or tartare sauce.

Tips

• Quick tartare: mix chopped boiled egg, mayonnaise, chopped pickles and a squeeze of lemon.
• Ask your fishmonger to butterfly (hiraki) the fish for you; sardines also work well.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook RecipeTin Japan