Aji no Sanbai (Grilled Horse Mackerel in Sanbaizu)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 100 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 6
About this dish
Small horse mackerel go straight from the grill into sanbaizu, a sweet-sour mix of vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and dashi, and the seasoning soaks in while the fish is still hot.
Read more
The dish comes from Kagawa on the Seto Inland Sea, where people who helped haul beach seine nets were once given small mackerel to take home. Its clean acidity suited hot days, and it turned up at summer festivals alongside drinks. Because the fish are grilled whole, the thickest part of the body has to be fully cooked. For children and older eaters, pick the flesh off the bones, which the vinegar does not always soften, and keep the fish refrigerated despite the acid.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the horse mackerel briefly under cold water and remove the gills and viscera.
Rinse blood from the cavities and dry inside and out thoroughly.
- 2
Combine vinegar, sugar, dark soy sauce, dashi, and salt in a small pan.
Stir over low heat only until the sugar dissolves, then pour into a wide heatproof dish.
- 3
Preheat a rack or fish grill well.
Place the presentation side down first and grill over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until deeply browned.
- 4
Turn carefully and grill the other side for 5 to 7 minutes.
Confirm that the thickest part reaches at least 63°C and the flesh is opaque.
- 5
Without cooling, place the grilled fish in one layer in the sanbaizu.
Spoon sauce over the tops and turn each fish once after 30 minutes. Refrigerate during the first 30 minutes of marinating as well.
- 6
Refrigerate 30 minutes more, then place two fish on each of four plates and spoon over a little sanbaizu.
Keep the fish chilled during marinating even if serving slightly warm.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
香川県農政水産部農業経営課 · Checked: 2026-08-11
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