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In the season for sanma saury, an autumn delicacy, many people may indulge by grilling the fish. But there are other recommended ways to cook it.
French chef Noboru Tani’s sanma saury escabeche is a kind of Western-style nambanzuke fried and marinated fish, in which deep-fried sanma saury is marinated with flavorful vegetables and then chilled.
Escabeche, said to originally have come to France from Spain, has the effect of preserving the fish because of the oil and vinegar marinade.
“This is a simple, homemade dish you can make in advance. Sardines are used the most in the Mediterranean region, but any kind of blue-backed fish will work, so sanma saury is also good,” Tani said.
The dish has a refreshing taste, allowing you to fully enjoy the flavors of the saury and vegetables. It also looks very colorful.
The main vegetables added to the marinade are carrots, onions and celery. “When it comes to flavorful vegetables in French cuisine, these three are the standard,” he said.
You might think of using the thinly sliced vegetables raw, but the key here is to lightly fry them.
“Quickly cooking them brings out their aroma,” he said.
When stir-frying, be fast. “I also want to pay attention to texture. Try not to overcook the vegetables,” he said.
Once the vegetables have cooked through in the oil, add the white wine vinegar and let the acidity evaporate quickly.
Deep-fry the saury thoroughly. If you soak the fried fish in the marinade while it is still hot enough to sizzle, it will absorb the flavor well.
Tani said it is better to leave the escabeche overnight. The concentrated flavor of the sanma saury and the mild acidity of the marinade will combine, delicately coming together with the flavors of the vegetables.
“Feel free to add more flavors as you like,” he said, adding parsley, lemon and coarsely ground black pepper.
Other spices that pair well with this dish are herbs, shallots, curry powder, red pepper and coriander. It’s also fun to arrange the marinated vegetables and eat them as a salad.
Using a squeeze bottle for oil
The Yomiuri Shimbun Olive oil in glass and plastic squeeze bottles
At Tani’s restaurant, he transfers some olive oil types into plastic squeeze bottles.
“It is convenient because I can control the amount of olive oil poured,” Tani said. He cuts the tip of the bottle to adjust to his preferred size.
You can use oil in a squeeze bottle in many ways, such as pouring it into a frying pan when cooking or drizzling a small amount on your meal as a finishing touch.
Saury escabeche
Ingredients
2-4 sanma saury fish
1 onion (260 grams)
1 carrot (125 grams)
½ celery (50 grams)
1 red bell pepper (160 grams)
2 cloves garlic
50 grams olive oil
50 grams white wine vinegar
100 grams white wine
Enough bread flour for coating
Oil for deep-frying
Directions
1. Remove the head and tail from the saury, and cut it into three equal pieces after removing the guts. Sprinkle an appropriate amount of salt on the surface of and inside the fish.
2. Slice the onion thinly along the grain. Cut the carrot into strips. Remove the strings from the celery. Remove the seeds and pith from the red bell pepper, then cut into strips along with the celery. Slice the garlic thinly.
3. Pour some olive oil in a hot frying pan and quickly fry the onion. Add the carrot, celery and garlic and fry. Sprinkle 6 grams of salt, mix in the red bell pepper then add the white wine vinegar. Once the acidity is cooked off, add the white wine and bring to a boil before turning off the heat.
4. Coat the sanma saury in flour and deep-fry the fish for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown, in about 4-5 centimeters of hot oil at 180 C. Place in a colander to drain the excess oil.
5. Put the sanma saury in a bowl and pour the marinade with mixed vegetables over the fish. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator to chill. Transfer to a serving dish. Add coarsely ground black pepper, chopped parsley and lemon slices to taste.
