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Iwashi Ume-ni (Sardines Simmered with Pickled Plum)
Serves 2 · About 40 min
Sardines simmered with umeboshi and ginger in a sweet and savory soy sauce and sugar broth. The sourness of the umeboshi helps keep a fishy smell away.
① Wash the sardines→② Cut the ginger→③ Boil the broth→④ Simmer the sardines→⑤ Serve
What to buy
Fish
Vegetables & pickles
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How to make it
1
Wash the sardines
- Fill a bowl with water, put in the sardines one at a time, and wash inside the belly with your finger. Remove any dark clumps of blood left inside
- Pat the outside and the inside of the belly dry with paper towels
How to tell it's doneNo dark red bits are left inside the belly.
2
Cut the ginger and tear the umeboshi
- Wash the ginger well with the skin on and cut it into thin slices on a cutting board
- Tear each umeboshi into 2–3 pieces by hand (put the pit in the simmering liquid too)
How to tell it's doneThe ginger slices and umeboshi are ready.
3
Boil the broth
- In a frying pan (or shallow pot), put 150 ml water, 3 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp mirin and 2 tbsp soy sauce
- Add the ginger and umeboshi too and bring to a boil over medium heat
How to tell it's doneThe liquid is bubbling.
Be carefulAdd the sardines after the liquid boils. If you add them while it is cold, a fishy smell comes out more easily.
4
Lay in the sardines and simmer
- Lay the sardines in without overlapping, and spoon the liquid over them
- Cut aluminum foil into a circle a little smaller than the pan and lay it right on top of the sardines (a drop lid)
- Medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. Sardines break apart easily, so do not touch them
How to tell it's doneThe liquid is less than half and has thickened. Open the back of the thickest sardine a little with chopsticks: it is white all the way through, with no red blood color around the bone.
Be carefulLift the foil to check partway through. If the liquid is almost gone, add 2 tbsp water. If you leave it, it will burn.
5
Plate and pour the liquid over
- Turn off the heat and gently move the sardines one at a time to plates with a spatula
- Put the umeboshi and ginger on top too, and pour the liquid left in the pan over them
ReadyDone once it is on the plate. Set the umeboshi pits aside when eating.
📚 Learn more about this dish
🥬 Ingredient guide
🔪 Cutting & cooking tips
If it didn't work out
The fish fell apartYou touched them while simmering, or they boiled hard over high heat. Next time, use medium-low heat and do not touch them after putting on the foil.
It smells fishyYou did not wash out the blood inside the belly in step 1, or you added them before the liquid boiled.
It is salty or burnedIt was cooked down until the liquid was gone. Next time, lift the foil partway through to check the amount of liquid.
The flavor is weakA lot of liquid was left. After moving the sardines to plates, cook down just the leftover liquid over medium heat for 1–2 minutes, then pour it over.
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