Steamed Sawara Fish (Spanish Mackerel) With Unique Ume Sauce

SAWARA UMEDARE KAKE（サワラ梅ダレかけ）

What kind of dish is Sawara umedare kake??

This dish is made of steamed Spanish mackerel and vegetables topped with ume sauce.

This sweet and sour sauce made with umeboshi goes well with Spanish mackerel, chicken breast, and tofu.

What is umeboshi?

“Umeboshi” is a pickled fruit called plum.. Ume is often translated as plum, but it is actually a fruit similar to apricot.

Umeboshi is made by salting ume and then drying it in the sun. The “boshi” in umeboshi means to dry.

Umeboshi has a very salty and sour taste because it is pickled in 20% salt by weight of the ume. It is a traditional food that has been produced as a preserved food since the Heian period.

Incidentally, umeboshi made from Nanko ume produced in Kishu (Wakayama Prefecture) is of high quality and exceptionally delicious.

There are several types of umeboshi, and Shiso ume, made with salt and red shiso, is the most standard. This recipe also uses shiso ume.

The vibrant purple color of umeboshi comes from the pigments in red shiso. If red shiso is not used, it is called shiro ume.

Umeboshi containing honey, kelp, or bonito flakes are also popular.

The most common way to eat umeboshi is to put it on rice or use it as a filling for onigiri rice balls.

What kind of fish is Sawara??

Sawara is a white fish, but it is fatty and has a rich flavor.

Sawara is called “Spanish mackerel”. Although it is easy to confuse it, saba is called “mackerel”.

Sawara is written in kanji as “鰆”. 魚 refers to fish, and 春 refers to spring, expressing that spring is in season.

It is a large fish that can grow up to 1 meter in length.The name changes depending on the size of the fish.

If it is about 50 cm long, it is distributed under the name “Sagoshi“.

The amount of catch decreases year by year, and the prices are high even when in season, but it’s still worth eating!!

Fresh ones are sometimes seasoned with vinegar and made into sushi. Grilled with salt, teriyaki, pickled in miso, meuniere, fried, steamed, etc. It can be used for various dishes.

NUTRITION FACTS of Steamed Sawara Fish (Spanish Mackerel) With Unique Ume Sauce

Nutrition Value Per Person

271 kcal
Protein 25.2 g
Fat 10.5 g
Carb 16.4 g
Salt Equivalent 5.6 g

INGREDIENTS for Steamed Sawara Fish (Spanish Mackerel) With Unique Ume Sauce (2SERVINGS)

Sawara(Spanish mackerel） 220g
- Salt 2g
Umeboshi(pickled plums） 15g…weight without seeds
Japanese white leek 30g
Ginger 8g
☆Soy sauce 30g
☆Mirin 30g
☆Sugar 5g
☆Sake 10g
Paprika (Red bell pepper) 40g
Bean sprout 160g
Green shiso leaves 1g

Steamed Sawara Fish (Spanish Mackerel) With Unique Ume Sauce COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Rub salt into the sawara (Spanish mackerel).
Chop umeboshi (pickled Japanese apricots), Japanese leek, and ginger.
Mix soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake. Add umeboshi, Japanese leek and ginger to the sauce. Heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Cut the paprika into thin strips.
Put washed bean sprouts, paprika and sawara on aluminum foil. Raise the edge by 4cm.
Place it in the frying pan.
Fill the frying pan with about 1 cm of water, cover it with a lid, and steam for 10 minutes
Mix the broth left in the aluminum foil with chopped green shiso leaves and sauce. Pour that over the fish.

⋈*Green shiso leaves change color easily, so mix them just before eating.