A dish I always crave in the fall is salt-grilled Pacific saury (sanma no shioyaki). In Japan, Pacific saury, known as sanma, is a famous symbol of autumn cuisine. You’ll start seeing it everywhere in restaurants and supermarkets as soon as fall arrives. While this salt-grilled dish is especially popular in autumn, grilled fish is a staple of the Japanese diet all year round. So, I’d like to talk a little more about grilled fish (yakizakana).
Types of Grilled Fish
Naturally, the taste of a grilled fish changes depending on the type of fish you use, but the preparation method before grilling also makes a big difference. Salt-grilled fish ( shioyaki ) is the most common preparation method. By sprinkling salt on the fish before you grill it, you can remove any fishy odors and condense its savory flavor. I absolutely love salt-grilled mackerel and salmon!
Other common types of grilled fish include dried fish (himono), which enhances flavor and preservation, as well as fish marinated in sake lees (kasuzuke) or miso paste (misozuke). My personal favorite is fish marinated in sake lees. Sake lees is a byproduct of the sake brewing process. It’s rich in the aroma, sweetness, and alcohol from the sake, which helps remove fishy odors, tenderize the fish, and add a deep richness to the flavor.
Grilled eel with a sweet soy glaze (unagi no kabayaki) is also popular overseas, isn’t it? You can find dried fish, sake lees-marinated fish, and miso-marinated fish easily at Japanese supermarkets.
Different Ways to Enjoy Grilled Fish
Once, I wanted to try making sake lees-marinated fish myself, so I bought some sake lees and combined them with mirin and miso to marinate some salmon. It was delicious even though I made it myself! Making it on your own really does make it taste better.
Another time, when my husband and I traveled to Nikko, we saw salt-grilled river fish being sold by the side of the road and decided to try it. It was incredibly tasty. You can often find this at leisure spots along rivers. While river fish can have many small bones, freshly grilled river fish is an exceptional treat!
Grilled Fish for Celebrations
Salt-grilled sea bream (tai no shioyaki) is often served at celebratory occasions. It’s eaten at traditional ceremonies like Okuizome, a ritual to wish for a baby’s healthy growth, or Kanreki, a traditional celebration of longevity for a 60th birthday. It can also be a dish for the Japanese New Year. Sea bream is considered a lucky fish for a few reasons: its red, vibrant appearance is festive, and the Japanese word for sea bream, tai, sounds like medetai, which means “auspicious” or “happy.”
Try Some Grilled Fish!
For people trying it for the first time, seeing a grilled fish with its head still attached might be a little surprising, but it’s a classic feature of Japanese set meals. Freshly grilled fish is wonderfully fragrant and so delicious. Healthy too! Fish marinated in sake lees or miso paste has a distinct richness, sweetness, and aroma. If you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend it!
