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Home ► Recipes ► Japanese (Traditional)

Sanma No Nitsuke

Updated: 10.18.23 | Marc Matsumoto | 33 Comments

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I made this nitsuke with some Sanma I had in the freezer. Sanma or Pacific Saury is a long needle nosed fish with a shiny blue-tinted skin.
Recipe

If you haven't noticed, I've been on a bit of a meat kick lately. I wanted to balance things out a bit so I made this nitsuke with some Sanma I had in the freezer.

Sanma, or Pacific Saury, is a long needle-nosed fish with a shiny blue-tinted skin, which puts it in a class of fish called aozakana, or "blue fish". Aozakana includes other similarly colored fish such as mackerel and sardines. The meat is darker and more oil-laden, and thus has a stronger flavor than other fish. While I wouldn't go so far as to call them "fishy" (fresh fish should never be fishy), they are more intense than halibut or flounder, which also means they contain more umami-triggering glutamates.

All this is to say that you want to use stronger flavors when cooking aozakana. One of my favorite ways to prepare Sanma is as a nitsuke. In my version, the Sanma is simmered in sake, soy sauce, sugar, and ginger, along with par boiled daikon. Sake and ginger are perfect for masking the stronger aromas, and the sweet soy sauce compliments the rich meat perfectly. The daikon rounds have a nice soft texture and absorb the sauce, making them a great accompaniment.

Serve it with a big bowl of rice and a side of green veggies.

📖 Recipe

Sanma No Nitsuke

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Ingredients 

for daikon

  • 1 daikon radish peeled
  • 2 Cups water
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 Tsp evaporated cane sugar
  • 2 Pacific Saury
  • ¾ Cups sake
  • ½ Cups mirin
  • ¼ Cups soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon evaporated cane sugar
  • 1 ginger " piece of (cut into rounds)

Instructions

  • To prepare the daikon, slice it into ½" thick rounds. Use a vegetable peeler to "peel" the corners. Rounding off the corners prevents the daikon from breaking apart as it cooks. Add the water, salt, and sugar in a pot, along with the daikon, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the daikon is tender, but not soft. Drain and set aside.
  • To prepare the sanma, use a sturdy knife to cut the tail off and remove the head around the gills. Make an incision along the belly from where the head used to be to the anus. Pull out as much of the innards as you can, then rinse off the inside in cold water to get rid of any remaining blood and offal. Cut each cleaned sanma into 4 pieces.
  • In a pan that's big enough to accommodate the daikon and sanma in a single layer, add the sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and ginger and bring to a boil. Add the daikon and sanma pieces, making sure the pieces are submerged. If you have an otoshi-buta (wooden drop lid), set it on top to keep it all submerged. If not, it's no big deal, but you'll need to gently flip the pieces half way through cooking. Turn down the heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook for 10 minutes.
  • To serve, plate the daikon first, then top with the sanma, drizzling some of the cooking liquid on top.
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  1. Marc Matsumoto says

    September 24, 2013 at 12:15 pm

    Yep absolutely!

    —
    Sent from Mailbox for iPhone

    Reply
  2. hilldomain says

    September 24, 2013 at 4:29 am

    If you cant find saury can horse mackerel or herring be used ? Im in Tokyo and its fall so no problem for me.

    Reply
  3. red rock noodle bar says

    April 12, 2012 at 1:37 pm

    Crazy good!!! It looks fantastic and need to try it for sure 🙂

    Reply
  4. red rock noodle bar says

    April 12, 2012 at 9:37 am

    Crazy good!!! It looks fantastic and need to try it for sure 🙂

    Reply
  5. Freshnessben says

    November 05, 2010 at 9:09 am

    I've been admiring this blog for a while, for both the quality of the recipes and the quality of the photography. Today, I finally had chance to try one of your recipes, and I went with this oily fish dish. Beautiful! The recipe was really easy to follow, and the result was spectacular. I live in Japan, so the ingredients are readily available, which is an advantage. I strongly recommend giving it a try! Keep up the good work boss!

    Reply
  6. Colloquial Cook says

    January 20, 2009 at 1:32 am

    Done! Fantastic! I love the tang of the daikon with the mirin and soy sauce! That's a keeper.

    Reply
  7. Colloquial Cook says

    January 20, 2009 at 12:22 am

    The daikon is boiling and I can't see who's going to stop me now!

    Reply
  8. Colloquial Cook says

    January 19, 2009 at 9:32 pm

    Done! Fantastic! I love the tang of the daikon with the mirin and soy sauce! That's a keeper.

    Reply
  9. Colloquial Cook says

    January 19, 2009 at 8:22 pm

    The daikon is boiling and I can't see who's going to stop me now!

    Reply
  10. Marc Matsumoto says

    December 22, 2008 at 3:17 pm

    Thanks JS, but peeling with one hand while taking photos was the challenging part.

    Bee, can't wait to see what you come up with for the mamenori!

    Brooke, If you have a vegetable peeler, adding the rounded edges is simple.

    White On Rice Couple, these were frozen, but they're even better if you can find them fresh:-)

    Fearless Kitchen, they are a bit trickier to find, but you can use this recipe with other types of fish.

    Hillary, that's a great idea, I'll have to remember that one.

    Thanks Zenchef!

    We Are Never Full, it's actually about twice as long as a sardine, but they are skinnier. The full name is Pacific Saury, so I'm not sure if they're caught in the waters around here. I picked mine up at Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ.

    Reply
  11. Marc Matsumoto says

    December 22, 2008 at 11:17 am

    Thanks JS, but peeling with one hand while taking photos was the challenging part.

    Bee, can't wait to see what you come up with for the mamenori!

    Brooke, If you have a vegetable peeler, adding the rounded edges is simple.

    White On Rice Couple, these were frozen, but they're even better if you can find them fresh:-)

    Fearless Kitchen, they are a bit trickier to find, but you can use this recipe with other types of fish.

    Hillary, that's a great idea, I'll have to remember that one.

    Thanks Zenchef!

    We Are Never Full, it's actually about twice as long as a sardine, but they are skinnier. The full name is Pacific Saury, so I'm not sure if they're caught in the waters around here. I picked mine up at Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ.

    Reply
  12. We Are Never Full says

    December 21, 2008 at 12:44 am

    never heard of saury - thanks for the insight. it's amazing how it's so easy to tell how oily the fish is just by looking at it. they look smaller than a sardine, am i right? i'm going to keep my eyes peeled for this type of fish.

    Reply
  13. We Are Never Full says

    December 20, 2008 at 8:44 pm

    never heard of saury - thanks for the insight. it's amazing how it's so easy to tell how oily the fish is just by looking at it. they look smaller than a sardine, am i right? i'm going to keep my eyes peeled for this type of fish.

    Reply
  14. Zenchef says

    December 20, 2008 at 12:51 am

    What a beautiful fish that is! And the daikon rounds are so well done. Bravo!

    Reply
  15. Hillary says

    December 19, 2008 at 10:36 pm

    Your daikon is very clean cut.

    The first time I had daikon was from Chef Matsaharu Morimoto, he make daikon fettuccine. It was so cool to watch him cut a daikon radish into noodles!

    Reply
  16. Zenchef says

    December 19, 2008 at 8:51 pm

    What a beautiful fish that is! And the daikon rounds are so well done. Bravo!

    Reply
  17. Hillary says

    December 19, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    Your daikon is very clean cut.

    The first time I had daikon was from Chef Matsaharu Morimoto, he make daikon fettuccine. It was so cool to watch him cut a daikon radish into noodles!

    Reply
  18. Fearless Kitchen says

    December 19, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    This looks wonderful. I'm not sure that I can find saury around here, but if I can I'll know what to do with it.

    Reply
  19. Fearless Kitchen says

    December 19, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    This looks wonderful. I'm not sure that I can find saury around here, but if I can I'll know what to do with it.

    Reply
  20. White On Rice Couple says

    December 19, 2008 at 7:53 am

    I haven't had saury in so long, got cravings now...
    What I do love about this is the fattyness and the flavor of this fish, just like you said.
    Gosh, the fish is so beautiful too, before and after!

    Reply
  21. Brooke says

    December 19, 2008 at 6:29 am

    This looks amazing - I love daikon, and you've cut them so beautifully. I'm sure mine won't look nearly so good!

    Reply
  22. White On Rice Couple says

    December 19, 2008 at 3:53 am

    I haven't had saury in so long, got cravings now...
    What I do love about this is the fattyness and the flavor of this fish, just like you said.
    Gosh, the fish is so beautiful too, before and after!

    Reply
  23. Brooke says

    December 19, 2008 at 2:29 am

    This looks amazing - I love daikon, and you've cut them so beautifully. I'm sure mine won't look nearly so good!

    Reply
  24. Rasa Malaysia says

    December 19, 2008 at 2:06 am

    You have mad skills in cutting up the daikon. Mine always look irregular. Yummy dish I am sure. Today, I found out the name of Mamenorisan and I am going to buy them!!!!

    Reply
  25. [eatingclub vancouver] js says

    December 19, 2008 at 1:00 am

    I love sanma but I gotta say what amazes me are those those daikon rounds!

    Reply
  26. Marc Matsumoto says

    December 18, 2008 at 10:45 pm

    Helen, that's another great way to have it!

    Diva, LOL sounds like a very complimentary pair:-)

    Reply
  27. Rasa Malaysia says

    December 18, 2008 at 10:06 pm

    You have mad skills in cutting up the daikon. Mine always look irregular. Yummy dish I am sure. Today, I found out the name of Mamenorisan and I am going to buy them!!!!

    Reply
  28. [eatingclub vancouver] js says

    December 18, 2008 at 9:00 pm

    I love sanma but I gotta say what amazes me are those those daikon rounds!

    Reply
  29. Marc Matsumoto says

    December 18, 2008 at 6:45 pm

    Helen, that's another great way to have it!

    Diva, LOL sounds like a very complimentary pair:-)

    Reply
  30. diva says

    December 18, 2008 at 2:50 am

    my dad loves sanma and i have a massive thing for daikon. so between me and him, this plate of food will be polished up within seconds. wonderful photos, as always! but i gotta go, cause i'm getting way too hungry now. 🙂 x

    Reply
  31. diva says

    December 17, 2008 at 10:50 pm

    my dad loves sanma and i have a massive thing for daikon. so between me and him, this plate of food will be polished up within seconds. wonderful photos, as always! but i gotta go, cause i'm getting way too hungry now. 🙂 x

    Reply
  32. helen says

    December 17, 2008 at 10:11 pm

    Growing up, my mother often prepared sanma - pan-fried, seasoned with salt, pepper and a squirt of lemon juice. Lots of little bones, but so tasty with rice. I often wondered if there are other ways to prepare this fish. Thanks for this!

    Reply
  33. helen says

    December 17, 2008 at 6:11 pm

    Growing up, my mother often prepared sanma - pan-fried, seasoned with salt, pepper and a squirt of lemon juice. Lots of little bones, but so tasty with rice. I often wondered if there are other ways to prepare this fish. Thanks for this!

    Reply
Marc Matsumoto

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