SHIMESABA

Eat delicious mackerel! This elegant fish has a streamlined body that can grow to about 50 cm in length. Its back and sides sport blue and silver stripes, and its belly is a gleaming white. Though in winter it stays in its "school" and keeps to the lower depths, when spring comes it will go up to the water's surface.
When shopping for fish, choose one that has clear, fresh eyes; a body that is firm to the touch; and a belly that is stretched, glossy, and white. Mackerel contains an abundance of unsaturated fatty acid and anti-oxidization-aiding enzymes, to lower your blood cholesterol level and maintain youth.
Mackerel is delicious, whether boiled, grilled or deep-fried! This time, let's try a very Japanese cooking style and cook up some shimesaba. This dish is called shimesaba in eastern Japan, but in the western part of Japan it's called kizushi. In kizushi, Spanish mackerel may be used instead of regular mackerel.
Though you may already be familiar with sushi, usually we eat raw fish without boiled rice, sashimi-style (just the sliced raw fish) with soy sauce. Wasabi (Japanese horseradish), ginger, and other seasonings may also be used. If boiled rice is added and the mackerel is served as sushi, it is called by various names, such as saba-zushi (pressed mackerel sushi), or battera. Styles vary as to details, such as the length of time soaking in sweet vinegar, the quantity of salt, and so on. We'll use a generalized way here.

When you buy fish, please choose a fish shop that deals in fresh fish and is always crowded with customers. In France, you can find a market (marché) even in the smallest towns. Be sure to visit the fish shop in a marché In Paris, the long-standing market of Ternes in the 17th district is one of my favorites.
Filleting a fish is a little difficult at first, so it's easier if you ask to the fish vendor to do it for you. A glass of cold white wine is also a good accompaniment to your fish dish, as is saké.

Written by Mami Miyagawa
A member of TranNet and freelance translator based in Paris

♦ INGREDIENTS
(serves 4)

T   = tablespoon

1  fresh mackerel
   sweet vinegar (for marinating)
6  T  vinegar
3  T  sugar
2  T  salt
   grated wasabi (to taste)
   soy sauce


♦ How to make SHIMESABA

1.  Fillet the mackerel.
2.  Sprinkle salt on both sides of the body and the skin and set it aside for 1 hour.
3.  When the mackerel absorbs the salt, wash it with cold water, wipe off the moisture, and soak the fish in sweet vinegar for about 1 hour. Start the soak skin side down and later turn the fish over.
4.  Remove the bones from the dark flesh.
5.  The mackerel's skin has a natural protective film. Wipe this off, , starting at the head and working toward the tail.
6.  Cut the fish into 1-cm wide slices from end to end.
7.  Place shimesaba in a dish and add grated wasabi and soy sauce and serve cold.

What can't be done with 'one'

What can't be done with 'two'