In my prior teriyaki adventures, which involved sauteeing, there always seemed to be a lot of splattering. Here, instead of using your stovetop, you bake the fish right in its marinade, which becomes a delightfully sticky teriyaki sauce. Problem solved! The lightly pickled vegetables make a lovely crunchy, sweet and salty accompaniment. Serve over steamed rice for a healthy Asian-inspired comfort food meal.
I like to thinly slice the veggies using a mandoline for uniformly thin slices, but I also recommend using a safety glove on the hand holding the food being sliced to avoid any personal injury. Seriously, I was scared to use my mandoline until I started using a protective glove. Now I happily and safely mandoline away! And you should too.
This recipe is adapted from Diana Henry’s A Change of Appetite. I’ve cut it down to serve two, and her version uses salmon instead of cod, which would also be lovely. I just happened to have cod.
- FOR THE FISH:
- 2 T. soy sauce
- 1½ tsp. sugar or 2 tsp. maple syrup
- 1 T. mirin (Japanese sweetened cooking sake)
- 2 tsp. dry sherry
- 2 - 6 to 8 oz skinless white fish fillets (I used cod)
- FOR THE VEGETABLES:
- ½ c. seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tsp. dark (Asian) sesame oil
- 3 mini cucumbers (or ½ large hothouse cucumber, peeled), thinly sliced
- 4 red radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
- ⅓ daikon radish, peeled and thinly sliced
- Fine sea salt
- 1 T. pickled ginger (the red shredded kind, not the pink sliced kind served with sushi) plus whatever juice comes with it
- Black sesame seeds, optional
- Sliced green onions for garnish, optional
- To marinate the fish: Mix the soy sauce, sugar or maple syrup, mirin, and sherry in your small casserole. Place the fish in the marinade, turn to coat, cover, and refrigerate to marinate for 30 minutes. (No longer or the fish may become mushy due to the salt in the marinade.)
- For the pickled vegetables: Place the sliced cucumbers in a colander and lightly sprinkle them with salt. Toss with your hands to ensure all surfaces have a bit of salt on them. Leave in your sink for 10-15 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. Then squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the cucumbers using your hands. (It's OK if they get a little bruised.) Combine with the two kinds of radishes, seasoned rice vinegar, sesame oil, pickled ginger, and black sesame seeds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To bake the fish: Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the fish, uncovered, until done. Cooking time will vary according to size and thickness of your fillets - my 6 to 8 oz. fillets took about 20 minutes. If you check and they're not done yet, just spoon some teriyaki sauce over them before putting back in the oven for extra yum. You'll know they are done when the flesh is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Serve with steamed rice, teriyaki sauce spooned over, and topped with sliced green onions if desired. Enjoy!
