Ikanago no Kugini (Ginger Soy Simmered Sand Lance)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 65 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 6
About this dish
Young sand lance, only 3 to 4 cm long, are reduced with soy sauce, sake, mirin, coarse sugar, and ginger until the pot is nearly dry.
Read more
As they cook, the glossy fish bend and darken until they look like rusty nails, which is where the name kugini (nail simmer) comes from. This is a preserve from the Ise Bay coast of Mie, made in spring when the young fish are in season, and its sweet-salty glaze is eaten with plain rice.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Use fresh young sand lance measuring 3 to 4cm long.
Julienne the ginger and divide it into eight portions. Divide the fish into four batches, rinsing each batch quickly in cold water only just before use, then drain thoroughly.
- 2
Combine the coarse sugar, dark soy sauce, sake, and mirin in a wide, heavy pot.
Heat on high until the sugar dissolves completely and the sauce boils vigorously.
- 3
Scatter half of the first fish batch across the boiling sauce and add one portion of ginger.
When the fish turns white, add the other half and another ginger portion in the same way.
- 4
Rinse and drain the remaining three batches and add each in the same sequence.
Wait for the sauce to return to a strong boil between additions and never stir during this process.
- 5
After all the fish is in the pot, keep the heat high and boil until only a little sauce remains at the bottom.
Leave the fish undisturbed and do not insert a utensil.
- 6
Lower the heat and gently turn the whole contents several times by moving the pot itself.
Watch the bottom closely and reduce until almost dry and the fish looks glossy.
- 7
Turn off the heat and immediately spread the fish on a wide tray.
Do not force apart pieces that touch; cool completely at room temperature so the glaze sets.
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
「三重の味 千彩万彩」（みえ食文化研究会） · Checked: 2026-08-11
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