Teriyaki Saba Fish (mackerel fish with homemade teriyaki sauce)
I have a love-hate relationship with Saba (mackerel) fish. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don’t. Most times I do, depending on my mood. The same can’t be said about my relationship with fried chicken or hainanese curry png. I always love fried chicken and hainanese curry png. There’s no two ways about it.
Eating fish is “supposed to be” a healthy affair. Fish is good for you yes, but before you order that saba fish set from the food court Japanese stall, have you wondered how it is prepared? Peep into their kitchen next time you order Japanese food and you’ll most probably see the cook drop a perfect saba fish into the deep fryer. Yes, most of these “healthy” saba sets are deep fried to save time.
The fish above was airfried for 8 minutes. No oil was added and the “fishy smell” wasn’t too bad at all as compared to panfrying. There was minimal clean up (just soak the airfryer basket, wash and go!) and the fish came out perfect. With the Philips Airfryer, I never cook fish any other way, unless if the fish is too big to fit, then I use the oven.
Teriyaki Saba Fish
(with homemade Teriyaki Sauce from Just One Cookbook)
Makes 1 serving. Total cost per serving: $1.63
What I used:
1 portion saba fish fillet
2 tablespoons homemade teriyaki sauce (combine all ingredients below- the amount below makes about 150ml which is more than enough in case you like more sauce):
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon corn starch
2 tablespoons water
Steps:
1. Clean the saba fish and remove as much bones as possible. Pat dry with paper towel and sprinkle some salt front and back. Put it uncovered in the fridge for an hour to force out the water.
2. In the meantime, make your teriyaki sauce. Combine sugar, mirin and soy sauce and bring to boil in a small saucepan.
3. In another bowl, mix the corn starch and water together. Add this solution to the saucepan and quickly whisk or stir to combine.
4. Lower the flame and cook for 3-4 minutes until the sauce gets thicker and is reduced to the consistency that you like.
5. When the hour is up, take out the fish from the fridge and pat dry. Spoon 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce on top (more if you like!) and coat well.
6. Use your grill pan or line the airfryer basket with baking paper/ foil, place the fish skin side down and airfry at 180 degrees for 8 minutes. Alternatively, pan fry it with a little olive oil til crispy and done.
How much I spent:
$1.63 for saba fish (I used frozen saba fish portions from Giant)
Everything else from my pantry
The fish was moist and flaked beautifully. If you prefer, you can add some grated ginger plus ginger juice to your teriyaki sauce. I left that out because I was pressed for time, but this fish was still amazing and flavourful as it is. I’ll never order deep fried saba fish outside ever again. This is the absolute best way to enjoy fish.. lightly prepared with zero oil. Try this, I promise you won’t be disappointed!
15 Comments
derdo
This looks good. Will try making this soon. Would using any other type of fish be okay?
Chrissy- budgetpantry.com
Yes, you can definitely use other types of fish. I use salmon frequently with teriyaki sauce too!
derdo
Great! My husband always orders teriyaki glazed salmon but with your recipe, we just might not need to go to the restaurant to have it. Thanks Chrissy. Sorry for peppering your blog with my many comments.
Chrissy- budgetpantry.com
You know I always welcome your comments! Happy airfrying and I hope your husband likes the teriyaki salmon!
derdo
Chrissy – my husband, my son and I thoroughly enjoyed the salmon with teriyaki sauce whose recipe you shared. Husband said it’s as good as the one served in his favorite restaurant! next time I’ll use the fish the resto uses – gindara or cod. My son was so happy when he learned no cooking oil was used. Thank you again!
Chrissy- budgetpantry.com
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! :) There are so many other dishes that we can make in the Airfryer.. welcome to this air frying team! :)
derdo
Thanks Chrissy and best wishes. Saw the photo in FB. :)
Chrissy- budgetpantry.com
Thank you for your well wishes! :)
Nami | Just One Cookbook
Hi Chrissy! Thank you so much for linking back to my teriyaki sauce recipe! Your saba looks delicious!
Chrissy- budgetpantry.com
Thanks Nami, we thoroughly loved the teriyaki sauce!
Michelle Chua
Hi, have u ever tried airfrying batang fish or threadfin without sauce? if yes, is the end product acceptable? yummy? or no go?
Chrissy- budgetpantry.com
Hi Michelle, yes, I have airfried batang fish in the airfryer before. What I did was wash and clean the piece of batang fish, then rub it with salt both sides, rinse then pat dry. Lightly salt it again and dust with a bit of corn flour before spraying a thin layer of cooking spray. Airfry at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes. I also crisped up some thinly julienned ginger in a bit of oil to eat with the batang. Very easy! You can leave out the corn flour if you wish.. I believe the result will also be quite good! To me fish is second to chicken when it comes to ‘airfryer success’!
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Mien
Hi Chris. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I tried it last night and my husband loved it. Looking forward to trying your other dishes soon!
Chris-budgetpantry
Thanks for letting me know! Happy that your hubs enjoyed it! :)