Mackerel Experiment

For a while I've been meaning to eat more Mackerel, since it's both a very healthy food but also one that is a lot more sustainable than the more common supermarket fishes.  Plus mackerel has always been one of my favorite sushi fishes.

Last night I tried cooking mackerel for the first time.  I cooked it "Tatsuta Age" style, which is a Japanese recipe.  Basically, you cut the fish into bite-size pieces, marinate in a mixture of soy sauce, sake, and mirin, coat it in potato starch, and deep fry it.  The strong flavor of the mackerel comes through nicely but with a wonderful crunchy exterior.  Eating it hot off the stove was delicious, and it was hard to stop so I could save some for today.

The recipe claimed that it was also good cold, so today I pulled out my bento lunch box for the first time, packed the bottom with rice, and the top with the mackerel.  It is indeed a delicious cold lunch.  The mackerel has a strong enough flavor that it still comes through even when cold.  I can see myself doing this a lot in the future.  And it's a pretty healthy meal!