00:00Traditional ryokan hotels serve shiozake with rice and miso soup for their breakfast for
00:05a reason.
00:05That crispy savoury bite anchors the whole meal.
00:08Follow the steps, nail the timing, all new mornings.
00:12For a printable version of this recipe visit my website, just google shiozake suzachi to
00:16find me.
00:18Before we start, let's talk about choosing your salmon.
00:20You want skin on fillets about 2.5 to 3cm thick, that's roughly an inch for those working
00:27in Imperial.
00:28Now, let's prep the fish.
00:30Remove any pin bones with tweezers, just run your fingers along the flesh and you'll
00:35fill them.
00:36Then, pat it completely dry with paper towels.
00:39For a lean, delicate profile, go with chum salmon, that's the most common domestic wild salmon
00:44you'd find in Japan.
00:45If you want something richer and juicier, pick species with higher fat content like koho,
00:51sokai, or firmed Atlantic.
00:53Honestly, any variety works well, so don't stress too much about it.
00:57Now, sprinkle one teaspoon of sake over both sides of your fillets.
01:01Sake helps tame TMA, the compound responsible for fishness, and adds a gentle pleasant aroma.
01:08Don't have sake?
01:09No problem.
01:10Dry sherry or a crisp white wine makes a solid standing.
01:14And if you don't have any of these, you can skip it entirely.
01:18Next up, the salt.
01:20Season all surfaces of your fish with fine sea salt at roughly 1.5 to 2% of the fish
01:26weight,
01:26depending on your preference.
01:28So, for a 200g piece, that's about 3-4g of salt, sprinkle it from about 30cm up from nice, even
01:38coverage.
01:39If you want mild, go for 1.5, 2% for a more traditional salty one, or shorter curing time.
01:47Set your fillets in a container and rest them in the fridge for at least 3 hours, but ideally overnight.
01:54Preheat your oven's broiler or stove-top fish grill of medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
02:00A properly preheated grill prevents the fillets from sticking.
02:04While it heats, retrieve your salmon from the fridge and blot the surface thoroughly with paper towels,
02:10erasing any remaining moisture or brine.
02:13For extra insurance against dryness, you can brush the skin side with a thin film of neutral oil,
02:21but if your fish is naturally fatty, feel free to skip this step.
02:25Then, pinch a small amount of cold sea salt and sprinkle it over the flesh from high above.
02:31Set your fish skin side up directly under the broiler.
02:34Be mindful of the grill's heat distribution.
02:38Position the salmon right underneath the heat sauce for even cooking.
02:41Broil for about 5 minutes for a 2.5 to 3cm fillet.
02:47You'll know it's going well when you see fat sizzling at the edges.
02:52For even cooking, turn off the broiler and let the fish rest in the hot oven for 2 minutes
02:57to finish gently with residual heat.
02:59If you peek underneath and the flesh still looks raw,
03:03flip it once and give it a final 1 or 2 minutes of medium heat until it's fully cooked through.
03:09Serve your salmon alongside steamed rice, a small bowl of miso soup,
03:14and a mound of grated daikon radish.
03:17That sharp, clean daikon really cuts through the richness of the fish beautifully.
03:23Take your first bite plain and let the sweet-salted crust and tender interiors peak for themselves.
03:30Really savour it.
03:31Then about halfway through, take a statue, squeeze the tart bright juice over the fish.
03:37And there you have it.
03:38Japanese salted salmon in all its simple elegant glory.
03:41This is one of those dishes that proves you don't need a long list of ingredients
03:46or complicated techniques to create something truly special.
03:50Want even more delicious recipes?
03:52Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description.
03:56Ok, let's go over the ingredients one more time, and if you're ready to cook,
04:00grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up
04:05on your screen.
04:06Want to learn how to make shiozaki with different cooking methods?
04:09You can find the full info on my website, just tap the link on the screen.
04:13And for more recipes like this, head to my fish playlist coming up next.
04:17Thanks for watching.
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