Spanish Mackerel Teriyaki with Roasted Asparagus

A beautiful fish with iridescent silver and blue striped skin and tell-tale yellow spots, Spanish Mackerel are one of the richest sources for Omega-3 fatty acids with wonderfully flavourful dark meat. Delicious baked, grilled, poached or smoked, Mackerel is also popular served raw as Japanese sushi known as 'Saba', which is usually accompanied with fresh grated ginger, and sliced scallions to bring out the natural sweetness while counteracting the fish's rich oils. Marinating the mackerel in a sweet teriyaki sauce for a few hours before briefly sautéing in a nonstick pan makes for a simple, healthy and nutritious Good Friday fish dinner, delicious served with roasted asparagus and Basmati rice.

With dark meat, shimmering silver skin and tell-tale yellow spots, the Teriyaki marinated Mackerel filets cook over medium heat until golden on the underside

Flipped over and pressed down with a spatula to prevent the fish from curling, 

the mackerel cooks for another new minutes until cooked through

Spanish Mackerel Teriyaki with Roasted Asparagus
Serves 2

2 4-oz filets Spanish Mackerel, skin on
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup Japanese shoyu or Tamari soy sauce
1/8 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup miring rice wine
1/8 cup sake
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
1 tsp sesame oil 
1 tsp sesame seeds, for garnish


Mix the soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake together in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until thickened enough to coat a spoon, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Place the mackerel in a shallow baking dish and pour the teriyaki sauce over the fish and refrigerate for 1 hour.

While the fish is marinating, set the asparagus on a foil lined baking sheet and coat with a little vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper, then set aside. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Once the oven has reached temperature, place the asparagus in the oven for 15 minutes, until the spears are lightly browned and cooked through as desired.

Add a teaspoon of vegetable oil to a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and then place the fish skin side up and cook until the surface of the fish browns and about 3-5 minutes. Turn the fish over and using a flat spatula, press the fish into the pan to stop it from curling up, and cook until the fish is opaque. Serve the mackerel with a light drizzle of sesame oil and garnish with sesame seeds, then set over a bed of asparagus and serve with some white Basmati rice or soba noodles.