Tai no mirin-boshi
A Japanese style Fish Jerky Recipe.
A Japanese style recipe.
If you’ve ever had dried fish jerky, then you’re going to absolutely love this recipe for the wonderful Japanese flavours. Marinated and perfectly dried pieces of fish are oh, so delicious!
Australasian Sea Bream soaked in a mirin-based marinade and dried may be called mirin-boshi. Other fish may also be prepared successfully in this way. The fish should be cleaned and butterflied, removing all the bones.
Once opened, a light salting and a brief pause is best before marinating in equal parts mirin and sake, with a touch of shoyu (light soy sauce) and some spices.
Ingredients:
1 kg Australasian snapper or silver seabream
1 cup of mirin
1 cup of sake
*2 tablespoons of shoyu
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2.5 cm (1 inch) piece of ginger, minced
Salt
*(Gluten free option: use Tamari in place of shoyu.)
Directions:
- Clean, remove skin if preferred, and butterfly fish. Slice into 3 to 6mm (⅛ to ¼ inch) lengthwise strips, trying to keep the fish as close as possible to the same thickness.
Lightly salt the skin and flesh sides and let rest — skin-side down — for 30 minutes. - In a medium bowl or shallow dish combine the mirin, sake, soy and other ingredients.
- Wipe any moisture off the surface of the fish with a clean towel.
Lay the fish in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Pour the mirin/shoyu mixture over the fish and marinate overnight. - Remove the fish from the marinade and drain on an inclined cutting board to remove any excess liquid.
- Once completely drained, place in an open container and place unwrapped in the refrigerator, near the fan.
- After 12-24 hours drying in the refrigerator the fish may be then dehydrated immediately.
- Dry at 68 C (155 degrees F).
Depending on preferred dryness and texture, dehydrating can take anywhere from 8-18 hours for fish that is sliced in 3 to 6mm (⅛ to ¼ inch) pieces.
The fish will be brittle and slightly leathery once finished.
Once the dehydration process has ended, allow the fish to completely cool before removing from the racks.
Serve with a wedge of sudachi citrus, lemon or lime., some sliced cucumbers, and a touch of wasabi for a kick!
Store in a cool, dry place in an airtight container for 2 to 3 months.
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The Australasian snapper or silver seabream is the choice of fish in this recipe.
“Sustainable seafood is about eating seafood today, tomorrow and into the future. It is about ensuring the ongoing vitality of the marine environment, the species that call it home, and the communities that it supports.”
Oliver Edwards, Founder of GoodFishBadFish
For more information on how to find, choose and cook sustainable seafood, check out GoodFishBadFish
Snapper
Snapper is caught by a range of fishing methods throughout Australia, from the south of Qld right around to central WA. It is also imported from NZ. Most have been over-fished in the past, and they are in various states of recovery. The Victorian stock is currently the healthiest and was accredited as sustainable by the Sustainable Australian Seafood Assessment Program (SASAP) in 2011.
Read more about SASAP and the seafood products they’ve assessed as sustainable here.
