Korean Grilled Pacific Saury

Quick answer

Total time: 22 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients: 6

About this dish

Kkongchi-gui is a Korean salt-grilled Pacific saury that relies on the fish's abundant natural oil for flavor.

Saury, an oily blue-backed fish at its peak in autumn, renders its own fat when grilled, creating a crisp, golden skin without additional oil. Gutting the fish and salting it for ten minutes draws out surface moisture and tames any strong fishy scent before it hits the pan. Each side cooks for four to five minutes over medium-high heat until the skin blisters and the flesh near the spine turns opaque. Grated daikon mixed with a splash of soy sauce and a wedge of lemon served alongside cut through the richness cleanly.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

pacific saury2 eaea

coarse salt1 tsptsp

cooking oil1 tbsptbsp

lemon½ eaea

black pepper⅓ tsptsp

grated radish2 tbsptbsp

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Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Step

Gut 2 Pacific saury and rinse them briefly under running water.

Pat the belly cavity and the outside very dry with paper towels, since excess moisture makes the skin stick and steam instead of crisping.
2

Season

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 0.3 teaspoon black pepper evenly over both sides and inside the belly.

Rest the fish for 10 minutes so the salt draws out surface moisture and softens any strong smell.
3

Control

Wipe away the moisture that appears on the seasoned fish before cooking.

Add 1 tablespoon cooking oil to a pan in a thin layer and preheat it well over medium-high heat before the fish goes in.
4

Step

When the oil moves easily across the hot pan, lay in the saury.

Do not move the fish for 4 to 5 minutes, letting the skin brown, firm up, and release more cleanly from the pan.
5

Heat

Turn each fish carefully in one motion with a spatula and cook the other side for another 4 to 5 minutes.

It is done when the flesh is opaque and the area near the bones is hot.
6

Finish

Transfer the grilled saury to plates right away so the crisp skin does not soften in the pan.

Serve hot with 2 tablespoons grated radish and half a lemon for squeezing over the rich fish.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Grilled Pacific saury self-bastes in its own natural oils to produce a crisp, savory skin.
Finish cue: It is done when the flesh is opaque and the area near the bones is hot.
Avoid this: Do not move the fish for 4 to 5 minutes, letting the skin brown, firm up, and release more cleanly from the pan.