Monday Dinner: Grilled sanma dinner

Grilled sanma or mackerel pike is one of my favorite Japanese dishes. Frozen mackerel pike is available at any Japanese or Korean store any time of the year, but the best time for mackerel pike is in the fall. Grilled fresh mackerel pike in the fall is just amazingly good and is one of the foods that I miss from Japan.

Grilled sanma (for 2 people):
Sanma/mackerel pike (2)
Salt
Grated daikon radish - optional
Soy sauce (as needed)

1. Preheat the oven to high broil. Wash sanma really well and pat dry. Salt both sides really well. Place the fish on an oven-safe plate or baking sheet.
2. In the middle rack of the oven, place the fish on the plate. Broil until the skin is nice and brown. Drizzle soy sauce over the fish and serve it with grated daikon radish.

It takes practice to be able to eat grilled whole fish cleanly, but once you get used to it, it's pretty satisfying to be able to get a big piece of fish off the bone.

Celery kinpira (for 2 people):
Sliced celery (2 stalks)
Julienned carrot (2 small carrots)
Soy sauce (1 Tbsp)
Mirin (1 Tbsp)
Sesame oil (1/2 Tbsp)
Sesame (as needed)
Chili pepper (1/8 tsp)

1. Heat a pan with sesame oil over medium high heat.
2. Saute sliced celery and julienned carrots until they begin to get tender. Don't saute them for too long. You want the vegetables to have some crunch.
3. Add soy sauce and mirin. Once they evaporate, add sesame and chili pepper. Saute for 10 seconds or so.

Kinpira is a Japanese dish, typically sauteed vegetables with a sweet soy sauce flavor. A variety of root vegetables can be used for kinpira.

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