Mackerel Mirin-yaki (Sweet Soy-Glazed Mackerel)

Name: Mackerel Mirin-yaki (Sweet Soy-Glazed Mackerel)
Total time: 45 min
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: Mackerel fillets (half-fillets cut in half) 2 fillets; Soy sauce 2 tbsp; Mirin (sweet rice seasoning) 2 tbsp; Sake (Japanese rice wine) 1 tbsp; Vegetable oil 1 tsp; Toasted white sesame seeds 1 tsp; Plastic wrap As needed; Paper towels 3–4 sheets

🥗 Lighter 💪 If you exercise

Serves 2 · About 45 min (30 min of this is just marinating in the fridge)
Mackerel marinated in soy sauce and mirin sauce, then cooked and sprinkled with sesame. Sweet and salty, great with rice.

① Soak in sauce→② Pat dry→③ Cook skin-side first→④ Coat with the sauce

What to buy

Fish

Mackerel fillets (half-fillets cut in half)2 fillets

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How to make it

Make the sauce and marinate the mackerel

In the fridge: 30 min

In a tray or deep plate, mix 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin and 1 tbsp sake
Pat the mackerel dry with paper towels
Put the mackerel in the sauce flesh-side down, cover with plastic wrap, and put in the fridge for 30 min. Flip once halfway through

How to tell it's doneAfter 30 min, the surface of the fish is light brown.

Pat dry

About 1 min

Take the mackerel out of the sauce and lightly pat off the liquid on the surface with paper towels
Don't throw away the sauce; keep it (you'll use it in step 5)
Wash your hands with soap after touching the raw mackerel, before moving on

How to tell it's doneNo liquid is dripping from the mackerel.

Be carefulIf you cook it while still wet, the oil splatters and the surface burns quickly.

Cook skin side down

Medium-low heatAbout 4 min

Put 1 tsp vegetable oil in a frying pan and heat over medium-low heat
Lay the mackerel skin-side down and cook without moving for about 4 min

How to tell it's doneThe skin is nicely browned, and about the bottom half of the side of the fish has turned white.

Flip it and cook with the lid on

Low heat, lid onAbout 3 min

Flip with a spatula
Cover and cook over low heat for about 3 min

How to tell it's donePut chopsticks into the thickest part and open it: if it's white and not see-through all the way through and the flesh flakes apart easily, it's cooked. If any part is see-through, cook 1–2 min more.

Coat with sauce and sprinkle with sesame

Low heatAbout 1 min

Wipe up the extra oil in the pan with paper towels
Add all the sauce you saved in step 2
Spoon the sauce over the mackerel for about 1 min, until the sauce thickens a little
Put on a plate and sprinkle with 1 tsp white sesame seeds

ReadyThe surface of the mackerel is glossy, and the sauce in the pan is thick and has cooked down.

Be carefulMirin sauce burns fast. Keep the heat low and stop after about 1 min.

📚 Learn more about this dish

🥬 Ingredient guide

Mirin Shoyu (soy sauce)

🔪 Cutting & cooking tips

Heat levels (high, medium, low)Nitsumeru (reducing)

If it didn't work out

The outside burned blackThe heat was too high, or you didn't pat off the liquid in step 2. Next time, use medium-low heat and pat it dry before cooking.

The flavor is weakIt wasn't marinated long enough. Next time, marinate a full 30 min, and coat well with sauce in step 5.

The fish fell apartYou moved it before it browned. Wait the 4 min in step 3 without touching.

It smells fishyYou didn't pat the mackerel dry. In step 1, pat the surface dry well before marinating.

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Made by YUU, a teen who loves cooking → About me