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Tazukuri (Candied Baby Sardines)
Serves 4–6 · About 20 min
A New Year osechi dish: dry-roast small dried anchovies (gomame) in a frying pan and coat them in a sweet and salty sauce and sesame.
① Dry-roast the gomame→② Boil the sauce→③ Coat→④ Spread out to cool
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How to make it
1
Dry-roast the gomame
- Put the gomame in a frying pan with no oil over low heat
- Roast, stirring now and then with a spatula, to dry off the moisture
- When roasted, take them out onto a plate for now
How to tell it's doneTake out 1 and let it cool a little: it snaps when you bend it with your fingers.
Be carefulOn high heat, they burn black and taste bitter. Keep it on low heat and watch that they do not change color too much.
2
Boil the sauce
- Put 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin and 1 tbsp sake in the same frying pan over medium heat
- Bring to a boil, stirring with a spatula
How to tell it's doneThe bubbles get bigger, and it is thick enough that when you drag the spatula through, you see the bottom of the pan for a moment.
Be carefulIf you cook it down too much, it burns and tastes bitter. Move on as soon as the bubbles get big.
3
Turn off the heat and coat
- After turning off the heat, add the gomame from step 1 and 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- Mix quickly with a spatula to coat everything in sauce
How to tell it's doneAll the gomame are coated in sauce, and almost no liquid is left in the pan.
4
Spread out to cool
- Spread out a sheet of parchment paper and put the tazukuri on it
- Spread them out with a spatula so they do not overlap, and let cool
- When cool, put in a storage container in the fridge. Eat within about 1 week
ReadyThey are not sticky when you touch them and come apart one by one.
📚 Learn more about this dish
🥬 Ingredient guide
🔪 Cutting & cooking tips
If it didn't work out
They are soft, not crispNot dry-roasted enough in step 1. Next time, roast until they snap.
It's bitterThey burned in step 1 or 2. Next time, use low heat in step 1, and in step 2 turn off the heat as soon as the bubbles get big.
They all stuck together in a clumpThey cooled without being spread out in step 4. Next time, spread them on parchment paper so they do not overlap.
The sauce is stickyNot cooked down enough in step 2. Next time, boil until thick, then add the gomame.
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