Shime Saba (Cured Mackerel)

Step 1

Coat each fillet with generous amount of salt so that the entire surface of both skin side and flesh side are covered.

Step 2

Place the fillets on a plate/tray ensuring that one side of the plate/tray is raised, so that the moisture extracted from the fillets will b collected on one side and does not soak the fillets (note 4). Leave it for 1 hour in the fridge.

Step 3

Fill a bowl with water. Rinse the fillet gently in the bowl and pat dry with paper towel.

Step 4

Place the fillets in a tray or a deep flat bottomed plate, add rice wine vinegar so that it almost covers the fillet. Leave for 2 hours in the fridge (note 5).

Step 5

Place the fillet skin side down. Using a pair of tweezers, remove the small bones where the backbone was. If you run your finger along the centre of the fillet, you should feel the bones. (note 6)

Step 6

Turn the fillet over and place it skin side up, pointing the tail end to the right (I am a right hander).

Step 7

Starting from the tip of the head side of the fillet, which is on the left, pinch the corner of the very thin, semi-transparent skin and lift it up to start peeling.

Step 8

Peel the skin towards the tail and remove the entire skin (note 7). As you peel the skin, hold the fillet on the head side with your left hand so that the fillet will not move.

Step 9

Slice the fillet 1cm (⅜”) thick if you are serving it as part of temakizushi. If serving as sashimi, slice them 1.5cm (⅝”) thick and make a shallow incision in the middle on the skin. If using it as nigirizushi topping, slice it diagonally so that the width of the mackerel is about 3cm (1⅛”).