Shime Saba (Vinegar-Cured Mackerel)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 100 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 7
About this dish
Salt first, vinegar second: the salt draws water out of the mackerel and firms it, and a short soak in rice vinegar with kombu turns the surface white while the center stays pink and rich.
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That pink center is how shime saba should look, which also means the fish is essentially raw. Vinegar and salt do not kill anisakis, so the recipe only works with fillets sold for raw eating with a parasite-control freezing history. Kept at 4°C or below from thawing to serving, it is eaten the day it is made, with perilla leaves and shredded ginger on the side.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Use a mackerel fillet labeled for raw consumption and verify its parasite-control freezing history with the supplier.
Follow the package thawing directions; if it is vacuum packed, remove it completely from the package before thawing it in a clean container in the refrigerator.
- 2
Pat the thawed fillet dry and remove pin bones with cleaned fish tweezers.
Spread 30 grams coarse salt evenly over the flesh and a thinner layer over the skin, then place the fish on a rack or raised tray and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
- 3
When beads of moisture appear and the flesh feels firmer, rinse away the salt quickly with cold water.
Pat every surface completely dry and check the fish for a clean smell and normal color.
- 4
Dissolve 10 grams sugar in 180 milliliters rice vinegar and add 5 grams kombu.
Place the fish and cure in a small nonreactive container or food-safe zipper bag so the liquid contacts the fillet, then refrigerate for 25 to 30 minutes.
- 5
Remove the mackerel from the cure and pat it dry.
Catch the thin transparent membrane at the head end and peel it slowly toward the tail, then run a fingertip over the fillet and remove any remaining pin bones.
- 6
Place the fillet skin-side up and slice it into 1-centimeter pieces.
Arrange it over 4 perilla leaves, add 10 grams finely shredded ginger, and serve immediately while cold.
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.
- 아니사키스 식중독 예방
일본 후생노동성 · Checked: 2026-09-03
- さばぬた 福井県
일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理 · Checked: 2026-09-03
- 2022 FDA Food Code, Parasite Destruction
U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Checked: 2026-09-03
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