Karei no Nitsuke/Simmered Turbot!

Karei/Turbot or halibut is a cheap and very popular fish in Japan, especially cooked, steamed, simmered or deep-fried.
Here is a very easy recipe found in many homes and izakayas:

Karei no Nitsuke/Simmered Turbot!

INGREDIENTS: For 3 “slices”

-Turbot/Halibut: 3 large cuts
-Soy sauce: 130 ml
-Sugar: 2 tablepsoons
-Mirin/sweet sake: 4 tablespoons
-Japanese sake: 4 tablespoons
-Miso paste: 1 tablespoon
-Garlic, grated: half a tablespoon
-Ginger, grated: Half a tablespoon

RECIPE:

-In a large pan drop soy sauce, miso paste, sugar, mirin and sake, and bring slowly to boil.

-Add fish and bring slowly to boil.

-Add grated garlic and ginger and cook on a low-medium fire until fish is almost cooked.

-Cover the fish with foil paper and simmer for 5 more minutes. Take care not burn anything.

-Discard foil paper and keep spooning the juices over the fish util it has reached a nice brown colour and reduced to a nice texture.

-Serve at once with some lettuce or greens. The fish and the sauce should have a shiny aspect.

The juices might look a bit dark, but that is when it’s at its best. Cooking time is difficult to determine exactly, but make sure nothing “burns”.
Great with plain steamed rice.
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Mebaru no Nitsuke/Stewed Rockfish

I found a bunch of simple fish recipes in my notes and thought that the faster I published them the better.
So after yesterday’s Simmered Turbot, here is a similar recipe for “mebaru” or Rockfish. a very popular fish here in Shizuoka and elsewhere!
Have a look at the pic of the fish at the end of this posting!

INGREDIENTS:

-Mebaru/Rockfish: 1 whole
-Water: 75 ml
-Soy sauce, Japanese Sake, Mirin/Sweet sake: 1 tablespoon each
-Sugar: 1 teaspoon
-Ginger, grated: 1 teaspoon

RECIPE:

-Dress the fish (take out the gills and innards.

-Wash the fish in running clear cold water. Dry it off with a piece of kitchen paper.
In a large pan, drop water, soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar. Mix well. Heat just before boiling point. Lay the fish inside.

-Bring the fire down to low-medium. Keep spooning “juices/soup” over the fish as it cooks.

-Cook until soup is reduced to one third.

-Check the taste of the soup halfway. If too astringent add sugar or mirin.

-The juices/soup having reached a slightly sirupy state, add the grated ginger. It is better to add it at the last minute, otherwise the taste will disappear.

-Consider the size of the fish as regards the ingredients for the soup/stock. It will be ok to double the ingredients quantity anyway.

NOTE:
Youmay increase the quantity of ginger and sugar. If the fish does not seem to be absolutely fresh increase the amount of sake and decrease accordingly the amount of water.

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Karei no karaage/Whole deep-fried Flounder

Here continues the mini-series on easy Japanese fish recipes:

Karei no Karaage/Whole deep-fried Flounder!
Have a look at the flounder pic below!

INGREDIENTS:

-Flounders: 1 per person
-salt: to taste
-Black pepper: To taste
-Cornstarch

RECIPE:

-Take scales off the fish. Take out innards. Clean the fish under running cold clear water. Dry off with kitchen paper.

-make a incision under the gills and take these out cleanly. Sprinkle with salt and let rest for 10 minutes.

-Wipe water and salt off the fish. Make a cross section cut along the skin as in picture. Season with salt and pepper and leave inside fridge for a while to let the fish suck in the seasoning.

-Sprinkle both sides of the fish with cornstarch (enough to cover the fish as “thinly” as possible)

-Heat the oil to 160~170 degrees Celsius. Drop the fish in the oil.

-When the fish has attained a nice colour and that the tail and fins have become crispy, finish the cooking by raising the temperature of the oil for a little while.

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-Take off excess oil on a piece of kitchen paper.
Apart of the bones around the eyes, not only the flesh, but the bones, fins and tail can be eaten!

NOTE:

Take care not to start the deep-frying at too high a temperature, otherwise the fish will “burn out”!