Shioyaki-Style Grilled Mackerel

📝 Ingredients

• 8 skin-on mackerel fillets (about 75 g each)
• 2 tsp fine salt (1 ½ for the fish, the rest for the cucumber and edamame)
• 300 g sushi rice
• 1 cucumber (about 300 g)
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar + 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 200 g frozen shelled edamame
• 1 tsp rapeseed oil
• 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp soy sauce

🍴 Utensils

• Saucepan with lid
• Small saucepan
• Mixing bowl
• Baking sheet
• Aluminium foil
• Fish bone tweezers

📖 Steps

1. Pat the fillets dry with kitchen paper and remove the pin bones with the tweezers, running your finger over the flesh to find them. Score the skin with 2 or 3 shallow cuts so it doesn't curl up, salt both sides with 1 ½ tsp salt and leave in the fridge for 15 minutes.
2. Rinse the rice in a bowl, rubbing it between your hands, and change the water until it runs almost clear (4 to 5 times). Put it in a pan with 360 ml water, bring to the boil, cover and cook for 12 minutes over a very low heat, then leave to stand, covered and off the heat, for 10 minutes.
3. Slice the cucumber very thinly, mix with a pinch of salt and leave for 10 minutes to draw out the water. Squeeze it between your hands to remove the liquid, dress with the rice vinegar and sugar stirred together until dissolved, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
4. Drop the edamame into a small pan of boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes, until tender but still firm, drain and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Cut the lemon into wedges.
5. Turn on the oven grill to its highest setting and position the rack about 10 cm from the heating element. Line a baking tray with foil and brush it with oil so the fish skin doesn't stick.
6. Carefully pat away the liquid released by the fillets, without rinsing them, and lay them on the tray skin side up. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes without turning, until the skin is blistered, crisp and golden in places, and the flesh is opaque.
7. Keep a close eye on it for the last few minutes: the skin quickly goes from golden to burnt. Serve straight away, two fillets per person, with the rice, cucumber, edamame and a lemon wedge, adding a few drops of soy sauce to the fish.