How to make Japanese grilled white fish marinated with miso!

Hi everyone. I’m Jinta from Japan.

This time, I will introduce how to make grilled white fish marinated with miso, so-called “miso-zuke” in Japanese. Although it is written as white fish, of course, if you use the this method for blue fish such as horse mackerel and mackerel, you can enjoy it deliciously.

Pickled fish… You may have the image that it is difficult. However, the miso-zuke that I will introduce this time is very easy because all you have to do is make a sauce with the seasonings you have at home and pickle the fish. If you pickle it in Saikyo, you can just use Saikyo miso (sweet white miso), and you can enjoy a different flavor even if you use red miso. I think it’s good to try it with various miso.

And the biggest merit of “Miso-zuke” that I think is its good storage stability. If you pickle it in miso, you can store it in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days, and if you freeze it, you can keep it for a longer time (about 1 month). When the fish fillet is left over, you have the option of pickling it in miso to improve its shelf life.

The important thing in cooking “miso-zuke” is the pre-treated salt. If the fish has a lot of water, the water will return to the miso and the pickling will be worse ( become source of the odor). Therefore, it is important to add salt to remove the water before pickling. It also has the effect of making it easier to soak in the taste.

Then, I will introduce “How to make miso-zuke-yaki”.

Reasons why “miso-zuke” improves storage stability

It’s surprising that the fish “miso-zuke” has been existing since Heian period. The predominant theory is that it was also conceived to prolong the shelf life of fish. Why does “miso-zuke” make the shelf life longer ?

1. Bactericidal effect of salt
2. Anti-oxidation with sauce coating

As the word “salted” implies, salt content enhances the preservation of food. We are using the salt contained in miso. Also, while pickling, the fish meat is coated with miso sauce, making it difficult to touch the air. This is thought to reduce oxidation (ie spoilage).

Miso-zuke ingredients for fish (for 4 people)

• 4 slices of fish fillet
• ☆4 Tbsp miso
• ☆4 Tbsp mirin
• ☆2 Tbsp sake

☆=pickled sauce

Tbsp=15ml

How to make miso-zuke of fish

1. Combine the pickled sauce☆
2. Sprinkle salt on the fish fillet, leave it for about 15 to 30 minutes, and wipe it off with paper when it gets wet.
3. Put the fillet and ☆ pickled sauce in the cooking bag, and knead it so that it doesn’t collapse.
4. Store in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 days (for your favorite period)
5. Wipe off the pickled sauce and bake both sides on the grill (or frying pan).

Photo and commentary

This time, I will use black rockfish from Miyagi prefecture. It’s difficult to bake as it is, so I’ll drop it into two pieces.

Also, cut off the large fins.

Fillets are cut like this this size.

Combine the miso, mirin, and sake of ☆ to make a pickled sauce.

Sprinkle salt on both sides of the fillet and leave it for about 15 to 30 minutes. And the water will come up. In this way, the odor is removed along with the moisture. And also it can be said to “make a way of taste”. It makes it easier for the pickled sauce to soak in.

Wipe off any water that comes out with paper.

Put the fillet in a cooking bag and add the pickled sauce. While being careful not to collapse, gently knead the sauce so that it spreads throughout. Store in a refrigerator in this state. Soak for 1 to 4 days if you like.

Here is the fillet two days later. From the surface condition, you can see that the sauce has penetrated. Please note that if you bake it as it is, the sauce will be burnt.

It’s soaked enough, so wipe off the miso sauce on the surface. If you can remove it with a spatula to some extent, you can wipe it off with paper at the end.

The grill is low to medium heat, and it is baked slowly without increasing the heat. Be careful as it is easy to burn.

When both sides are roasted, the white fish miso-zuke is complete.

“Itadaki-masu”

It’s soaked well for two days. The flavor of miso is irresistible.

Freezing and thawing method

When freezing, it is recommended to wipe off the pickled sauce and wrap it in a wrap. As this procedure, it’s easy because you just thaw it and bake it.

I wrapped the unused part in plastic wrap like this. Can be stored frozen for 1 month.

There are two recommended thawing methods.

1. If you have time：Thaw slowly in the refrigerator
2. If you don’t have time：Put it in a plastic bag and deflate it, soak it in ice water and thaw it (about 1 hour).

Also, if you want to go up a notch, you can use “Pichit” instead of rap. “Pichit” is a dehydrated sheet for food, but it is an excellent one that absorbs excess water generated during freezing and thawing together with the odor.

Summary

This time, I introduced how to make miso-zuke for fish. If you like a sweeter taste, add sugar, and if you like a stronger taste, increase the number of days of pickling to adjust the taste to your liking. Just knowing miso-zuke, which will add an arrangement to your usual fish dishes. The good thing about pickling is that it can be preserved effectively. I think it’s a good idea to use it when you have a fillet that you can’t use them up.

How about these articles?