Pickled Mackerel Sushi (Saba Zushi)

For the saba zushi recipe, you need to start cooking with fish. Cut fresh mackerel into fillets. Cover a flat dish with a thick layer of salt, put the mackerel fillet on top and sprinkle with salt. In this form, leave the mackerel for salting for at least 3-4 hours. After the time has elapsed, rinse the mackerel fillet, dry it with a paper towel, and remove all bones with tweezers.

Pour rice vinegar into a flat dish, put the fillet into it, skin side up, pour over the vinegar and let stand for 10 minutes, if the fillet is thick, then increase the time to 20 minutes. After marinating, remove the fish, dry it and gently, with your fingers, to preserve the silvery pattern, remove the skin from the fish. It is necessary to remove the skin from the head to the tail.

When the mackerel is cooked, you can start cooking the rice. Rinse the rice thoroughly in cold water, changing the water until it becomes clear, then put the rice in a colander and set aside for an hour. After the time has elapsed, transfer the rice to a deep saucepan, pour in water, add kombu seaweed on top, cover and put on medium heat. When the water boils, remove the seaweed, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook the rice at a low boil for 10-13 minutes, it's time for it to absorb all the liquid.

When you hear a slight crackle, remove the pan from the heat and let the rice stand without opening the lid for 10-15 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix vinegar, salt and sugar. Transfer the sushi rice to a moist, preferably wooden bowl, pour over the vinegar mixture and mix with the rice with a wooden spatula, turning the sushi rice over, but do not mix.

Line a form with dimensions of 25x7.5x4 cm with cling film, the film should be twice the size of the form. Cut the pickled mackerel lengthwise into 2 cm pieces and place in the dish with the back down. The mackerel fillet should completely cover the bottom of the mold. Put sumeshi (pickled rice) on top of the mackerel, tamp, cover with cling film and press down with oppression.

Put the form with saba-zushi in the refrigerator for 3 hours, and then take it out, cut into slices in the width of the cut mackerel fillet. After each cut, the knife must be wiped with a napkin. Cut the nori sheet into strips of 1 cm, wrap saba zushi with a strip of nori, and on top lay out a strip of grated ginger. Serve soy sauce separately with saba-zushi.