Sawara Fish Recipe (Spanish Mackerel)

What kind of fish is Sawara (Spanish Mackerel) ??

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.

Recipes using Sawara (Spanish Mackerel)

Here are some easy recipes that use Sawara (Spanish Mackerel). Each article has details, so be sure to check them out.

Steamed Sawara Fish With Ume Sauce

This dish is made of steamed Sawara (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.

Grilled Sawara Fish With Shiso Flavour

This dish is Spanish mackerel marinated in soy sauce mixed with shiso and then grilled.

Shiso has a preservative effect, making it the perfect ingredient to use with easily spoiled blue fish such as mackerel or yellowtail.

Unlike teriyaki or nizakana (simmered fish), this dish does not contain any liquid, so it is easy to put in a bento.

Sawara Saikyo yaki (Grilled miso-marinated fish)

Saikyo-yaki is a traditional dish in which meat or fish is marinated in saikyo miso(shiro miso), mirin and sake, and then grilled.

Spanish mackerel, silver cod, and salmon are commonly used in Saikyo-yaki.

Sawara Yuan yaki (Spanish mackerel with yuzu)

Yuan-yaki is a dish in which ingredients are marinated in a sauce made of sake, soy sauce, mirin, and citrus(yuzu) juice.

Teriyaki is a similar dish, but the difference is that citrus juice is used.

Grilled Spanish Mackerel With Negimiso

A sauce made with chopped Japanese leeks and miso is placed on top of Spanish mackerel and grilled using a fish grill.

This dish can also be made delicious using white miso or mixed miso. There are many types of miso, so choose the one that suits your region and cooking method. This time I used red miso.

Red miso is more mature than other miso and has a slightly dry flavor. It’s not as unique as haccho miso, so it’s easy to use.

Oven-baked Spanish mackerel with tomato cheese

This dish is made by placing sawara fish and plenty of vegetables in a heat-resistant dish, topping it with butter, soy sauce, and cheese, and baking it in the oven.

The combination of butter and soy sauce, which brings out the flamboyance of Western cuisine and the delicacy of Japanese cuisine, is very popular in Japan.

In addition, this recipe is topped with cheese, which adds a fragrant and rich flavor and deepens the flavor.