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This simple one-ingredient dish may join your cooking rotation, as dinner can be ready in 10 to 15 minutes.
Buy defrosted or frozen saba, the Japanese name for mackerel, which is available at most grocery stores. The fish is broiled for 10 minutes on one side, 5 minutes on the other, and it’s ready to eat!
Use foil to line the broiling pan and you’ll have no clean up. Yes. It’s that simple.
If you choose to put in slightly more effort, you can add salt before broiling or soak the fish in sake for 5 minutes.
This oily fish is supposed to be good for your health, full of those good omega-3 fatty acids.
In Japan, saba is served with grated daikon and soy sauce to contrast with its strong flavor. Chopped green onions can be added for color.
I find this fish packed three to a package, totaling about 1 pound. The place of origin is often listed as Norway.
Mackerel is pelagic, which means the fish migrates long distances and lives in the open ocean, in contrast to coastal waters, the bottom or reef. Many countries, from Spain to Scandinavia to Japan, enjoy mackerel. We should, too.
BROILED SABA
By Lynette Lo Tom
- 3 mackerel fillets (about 1 pound total)
Line a pan with foil. Place fillets in pan skin side down. Place pan in oven about 6 inches from heat source.
Broil on high 10 minutes, until flesh is light brown. Turn fish and broil 5 more minutes.
Serve hot or at room temperature. Serves 3.
Variations:
>> Soak fish in sake 5 minutes. Pat dry before broiling.
>> Sprinkle salt on fish before broiling.
>> Serve with grated daikon, soy sauce and chopped green onions.
>> Don’t like to broil? Line a frying pan with foil. Place fillets skin side down in pan and cook over medium-high heat until fish are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 340 calories, 23 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 100 mg sodium, no carbohydrate, fiber or sugar, 31 g protein.
”Easy Kine” features simple dishes that start with commercially prepared ingredients. Lynette Lo Tom is excited to hear your tried-and-true suggestions. Contact her at 275-3004, email lynette@brightlightcookery.com or via instagram at @brightlightcookery.
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