- 4 x 100g/3.5oz blue eye trevalla fillets (note 1)
- A few pinches of salt
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tsp yuzu juice (note 2)
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Sprinkle salt over the fillets and leave for 30 minutes. Then, wipe off the moisture from the fillets.
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Mix the Yūan Marinade and place it in a ziplock bag or a tray with the fish fillets. Marinate for 1 hour, turning the bag or fillets in the tray a couple of times during that time.
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Pre-heat oven griller/broiler.
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Place a rack on a baking tray covered with aluminium foil.
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Remove the fillets from the marinade and put them on the rack, skin side down. Keep the marinade (note 3).
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Place the tray under the oven grill/broiler. The distance between the heat and the fish should be about 10cm/4”.
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Grill for about a minute, until the surface of the fish turns whitish. Baste the surface of the fillets with the marinade.
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Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. During this time baste the surface of the fillets with the marinade every minute or so (note 4).
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Turn the fillets over and cook further 2-3 minutes, basting the fish in the same way (note 4).
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Remove the fillets from the grill.
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Place a fillet on an individual serving plate with a lime or lemon wedge (note 5) on the side.
1. Many types of fish are suitable for Yūan Yaki – snapper, Spanish mackerel, kingfish, swordfish, cod, etc.
I bought a large piece of fish fillet and sliced it diagonally, which is a typical Japanese way of cutting fillets. But you can also use standard cuts of fillets or even cutlets, as long as it is not too thick.
One side of the standard fish fillet is fully covered with skin. You may want to make cross-incisions on the skin side so that the marinade infuses into the flesh better.
2. The traditional marinade uses fresh yuzu slices. Where I live, fresh yuzu is hard to find, so I used yuzu juice as an alternative. If you can get fresh yuzu fruit, add several slices to the marinade instead of using yuzu juice.
You can buy a small bottle of yuzu juice at Japanese/Asian grocery stores.
You can also use lemon or lime slices instead of yuzu. It makes the Yūan yaki a touch sour compared to using yuzu.
3. If you marinated the fish in a bag, transfer the marinade to a bowl. It is easier to baste the fish with the marinade in a bowl.
4. The required cooking time depends on the thickness of your fillets. My fillet was about 1.5cm/⅝” thick.
5. If you use fresh yuzu fruit, serve with sliced yuzu instead.
6. Nutrition per serving.
serving: 114g calories: 99kcal fat: 0.7g (1%) saturated fat: 0.1g (1%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 0.2g monounsaturated fat: 0.1g cholesterol: 43mg (14%) sodium: 344mg (15%) carbohydrates: 2.3g (1%) dietary fibre: 0.1g (0%) sugar: 1.7g protein: 18g vitamin D: 0.9mcg (5%) calcium: 18mg (1%) iron: 0.5mg (3%) potassium: 434mg (9%)