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The Yomiuri Shimbun Rice cooked with frozen mackerel, left, and acqua pazza
By Akio Oikawa / The Yomiuri Shimbun
12:30 JST, March 9, 2025
Frozen mackerel is a popular ingredient because it can be used easily in a variety of dishes, not to mention simple grilling.
The Finance Ministry’s trade statistics showed about 77,200 tons of frozen mackerel were imported in 2023, up 14,800 tons from the previous year. About 70% comes from Norway, followed by the United Kingdom and Ireland. Some has already been deboned or salted.
“It’s convenient to cook, free from a peculiar flavor and has a robust taste,” said Yasuyuki Nomoto, a sushi chef and cook, who shared two frozen salted mackerel recipes: seasoned rice and acqua pazza.
For seasoned rice, Nomoto used ginger and konegi green onions as condiments to soften the oily dish.
Thawing the fish before cooking will result in it losing its taste. Nomoto dumped the frozen mackerel into a rice cooker. If the fish is too big to fit, thaw lightly and cut it into smaller pieces. He recommends a dashi broth made from bonito and kombu or commercially produced stock granules.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Frozen mackerel is used for acqua pazza. Sprinkle salt if you use unsalted mackerel.
Make sure to remove the bones — if you find any — before mixing it with the rice. The fluffy mackerel and the dashi-soaked rice go well together and are appetizing. You can cook the rice with mushrooms and other ingredients, too.
For the acqua pazza, frozen mackerel is used, again without thawing. The cherry tomatoes in the recipe can be replaced with regular cut tomatoes.
White wine can be used instead of sake to make a more Western-style dish. The fish fat is mixed moderately in the soup, and the leftovers can make a good pasta sauce.
“Grilling is fine, but [mackerel] is also good steamed or simmered,” Nomoto said. “Please try cooking the fish in various ways.”
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Seasoned rice
Ingredients (Serves 2 to 3):
1 frozen salted mackerel fillet
2 cups rice (1 cup = 180 milliliters)
Dashi stock (to steam rice)
½ piece ginger
Konegi green onion as preferred
Directions:
1. Cut the ginger into thin strips and the konegi green onion into small pieces. Wash the rice in water, drain in a colander and set aside.
2. Put the rice, 1½ tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of sake and ¼ teaspoon of salt into a rice cooker. Fill the rice cooker bowl with dashi to the 2-cup mark and place the frozen mackerel and ginger inside to cook.
3. When the rice is cooked, mix the mackerel in with a rice paddle and serve in bowls, sprinkling with konegi green onions.
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Acqua Pazza
Ingredients (Serves 2 to 3):
2 frozen salted mackerel fillets
10 asari clams (sand cleaned out)
6 cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
Coarsely ground black pepper to taste
Italian parsley to taste
Directions:
1. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and finely chop the garlic and Italian parsley.
2. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil and garlic in a frying pan over low heat. When you start to smell the garlic, add the mackerel, clams, cherry tomatoes and 100 milliliters each of sake and water. Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
3. When the mackerel is cooked and the clams have opened, sprinkle with black pepper and serve. Garnish with parsley and drizzle with olive oil.
