Grandma's Recipes 
京都府 
* Photo is for reference 兵庫県 ⛄ Winter · Summer
Japanese Grandma's Simmered Mackerel with Pickled Plum (Saba no Nitsuke)
This mackerel simmered dish from Hyogo stands out for its generous use of pickled plum (umeboshi) and ginger, plus the distinctive depth of raw cane sugar (zaratou). Grandma would patiently baste the fish with simmering liquid until it became glossy and rich.
🧂 Ingredients
servings
* In traditional Japanese grandma cooking, measurements are approximate — think of them as guidelines rather than exact amounts.
| Main Ingredients | |
| Mackerel (Saba) fillets | two nice-looking fillets |
| Ginger | cut thick (Sliced 3mm thick) |
| Umeboshi (traditional salty pickled plum) | one |
| Simmering Liquid | |
| Water | a little less than enough to cover |
| Sake (cooking rice wine) | two generous glugs |
| Soy sauce | until the color looks right (About 3 tablespoons) |
| Sugar (raw cane sugar / zaratou preferred) | two heaping spoonfuls (About 2 tablespoons) |
👩🍳 Instructions
- 1
Blanch the mackerel: pour hot water over the fillets in a strainer, then gently wash off the white residue and blood under cold water.
- 2
Add water, sake, sugar, soy sauce, sliced ginger, and torn umeboshi to a pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- 3
Place the mackerel skin-side up in the boiling liquid. Once it returns to a boil, reduce to medium heat, add a drop lid, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- 4
Remove the drop lid and repeatedly spoon the simmering liquid over the mackerel until it becomes slightly thick and glossy.
💡 Keep the heat at medium throughout -- don't lower it. 'If you keep touching the fish, it'll fall apart, so be patient and just watch,' grandma would say.
📖 Memories & Stories
Grandma always said 'if you keep touching the fish, it'll fall apart -- be patient and just watch' as she stared intently at the pot. Now that I work in the food wholesale business, I think of her simmered mackerel every time I see good mackerel at the market. It wasn't the refined, light flavor of modern restaurants, but the tang of pickled plum and the depth of zaratou's sweetness paired perfectly with white rice.
Source: Learned directly from grandmaWritten from memory (Submitted by: くにお)
🍽 Cultural Background
Simmered mackerel is found in homes throughout Japan, but adding pickled plum is a traditional technique that both removes fishy odor and adds flavor. Using raw cane sugar (zaratou) is a practice found in some Kansai households, producing a richer sweetness than regular white sugar.
