← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 2 whole Pacific saury (sanma)
• 1 tbsp Sake (optional)
• 1 tsp flaky or coarse sea salt
• 6 cm piece Daikon radish, peeled and finely grated
• 1 lemon, lime or sudachi, cut into wedges
• 1 tbsp soy sauce, to drizzle (optional)

Method

1. Rinse the fish under cold water and pat dry. If they are too long for your grill, cut each one in half. Brush with sake if using.
2. Sprinkle both sides evenly with salt, with an extra pinch on the tail and fins to stop them burning, and leave for 15 min. Pat off the moisture that appears.
3. Heat the grill (broiler) or a fish grill to high, lining the tray with foil.
4. Grill the fish 8–10 cm from the heat for 6–8 min per side, until the skin is blistered and browned and the flesh near the bone is opaque.
5. Meanwhile, gently squeeze the excess water from the grated daikon.
6. Serve each fish whole with a mound of daikon, a wedge of citrus and a few drops of soy sauce on the daikon.

Tips

• Sanma is traditionally grilled with the guts in; their pleasant bitterness is part of the charm, but you can remove them before salting if you prefer.
• Use tamari or skip the soy sauce for a gluten-free plate.

Sources

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

Just One Cookbook Just One Cookbook Sudachi Recipes