Sanma Teriyaki is a classic Japanese fall recipe. Pacific saury is pan-fried till crisp and dressed in homemade teriyaki sauce.
One of my readers in Singapore told me Sanma (Pacific Saury) is still in season and it’s pretty cheap there (about $4 for 2 whole Sanma in the US). So today I’m sharing an easy Sanma recipe. In case you haven’t seen my other Sanma recipe, check out Sanma Shioyaki recipe.
In my Beef Teriyaki post, I briefly explained that Teriyaki is a cooking technique, in which we cook ingredients (protein or veggies) till the sauce starts to luster, but “that” sauce we make became very popular outside of Japan. We don’t really have a specific name for the luster sauce we cook, but this combination of sauce ingredients are used for many dishes in Japan. In Japan we use many different kinds of fish prepared this way, and that’s why I mentioned in the previous post that the teriyaki style of cooking is used more on fish than meat in Japan. Now let’s go over this quick and easy Sanma Teriyaki recipe.
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Sanma Teriyaki
Ingredients
- 2 sanma (pacific saury)
- ¼ tsp kosher or sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt) (if you have kobucha (kombu cha), sprinkle it instead of salt. it gives nice umami and saltiness to sanma)
- 1 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc.)
- 1 green onion/scallion (finely chopped)
Instructions
- With a sharp knife, cut the abdomen of the fish to open it up. Remove the guts and discard them. Rinse under cold water to clean the inside and remove any traces of blood. Once the fish is clean, cut into 2 inch pieces.
- Sprinkle salt (or kobucha) and set aside for 10 minutes.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add the fish and cook both sides until brown and crisp. Wipe off any excess oil on the frying pan with a paper towel.
- Add the Teriyaki Sauce. Shake the frying pan and coat the fish well with the sauce.
- When the sauce gets thicken, add green onion. Shake the frying pan to mix well and transfer the fish to a serving plate. Drizzle the sauce over and serve immediately.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 days.
