Shime Saba – Japanese Pickled Mackerel
This is based on a recipe from our friend and customer, Kengo Iwanaga. Drawings by Kengo.
- 2 mackerel fillets (pin bones removed)
- 8 oz. rice vinegar
- A little over 1 T mirin
- 6 -1 1/2 inch pieces of Konbu (dried kelp)
Cover both sides of fillets with salt. I place them in a small casserole dish.
Refrigerate for 2 hours. (I put a wad of paper towel at one end of casserole and slightly elevate one side so the toweling will absorb water as mackerel cures).
Next, gently rinse fillets under cold water then pat dry with paper
towel.
Mix vinegar and mirin in a sealed container (Kengo uses a zip lock bag) and add fillets with kelp pieces. Either way make sure fillets are covered with mixture.
Marinate for 2 hours. Remove fillets and pat dry.
Remove top layer of skin by gently grabbing top corner llets are covered 
with mixtureand carefully pull it off (you might lose a little of the blue skin but that’s ok). Slice in about 1/4 inch thick pieces (I slice on a slight angle to show off more skin).
Serve over rice logs (nigiri) or plain with grated daikon or ginger with spring onions, soy sauce and wasabi or just as is. We served simple shime saba appetizers last night over rice crackers with fine sliced scallions, a thin slice of jalapeño and a splash of soy sauce. So good!
