It was around the same time that I came across this recipe from No Recipes. Marc, who is Japanese, had posted a traditional Japanese mackerel recipe in light of the natural disasters. And it involved cooking with a pressure cooker.

I have a pressure cooker but have only used it to make brown rice and beans (as opposed to white rice), for its health benefits. (And it’s actually my sister’s.) This might be obvious to you, but it never occurred to me that I could make anything else in it! So I was excited to add a new mackerel dish to my collection of recipes, as well as show my support to the Japanese people during a difficult time.

And that was the last time I cooked with the pressure cooker.

Recipe: Miso Glazed Mackerel
From No Recipes

(Original recipe makes enough for 4; I halved everything and made a few adjustments. Check out the original version – the recipe is combined with a spicy mustard salad)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of mirin (I just used rice vinegar)
3 tablespoons cup of sake
1/2″ length of ginger julienned
1 shallot, thinly sliced (I used 1/2 of an onion)
1 clove of garlic smashed (Increased this to 4 cloves, mainly because I wasn’t paying attention)
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of red or white miso
2 pounds of mackerel cut into large pieces (I used 1 pound)

Procedure:

1. In a pressure cooker, bring the mirin and sake to a boil along with the ginger, shallots and garlic. Boil for 2 minutes to burn off the alcohol.

2. Add the water and miso and stir to dissolve the miso. Add the mackerel, then seal and lock the lid. If your pressure cooker has settings set it for the highest pressure. Bring the pressure cooker up to pressure over medium high heat, then turn down the heat as low as you can while maintaining pressure and cook for 45 minutes. (Instead of raising the pressure and then maintaining it, I cooked it on HIGH heat for exactly 20 minutes. No wonder!) If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can simmer this in a pot with a lid for about 2 1/2 hours.

3. When the mackerel is done, follow the pressure cooker directions to release the steam. The bones should be soft enough to eat. If they’re not, you can add some more water if needed, reattach the lid and continue to cook another 10-15 minutes.

Then I ended up with a yummy mackerel dish.

But my pressure cooker was not as lucky.

I tried to save it by doing the following:

• Scrub it with baking soda
• Leave it to soak overnight with dishwashing liquid
• Leave it to soak overnight with dishwashing liquid and baking soda
• Squeeze an entire lemon into the pot, then boil it
• Leave it to soak overnight with lemon juice, baking soda and dishwashing liquid
• Scrub it with oven cleaner
• Leave it to soak overnight with oven cleaner, then scrub it
  

None of it worked. Every time the pot got warm, it smelled like burnt fish. And after a while, like oven cleaner. Sorry, sister!

It’s ok though. What can you do? Besides, one important thing remains: the fish was edible, and quite yummy. Despite what happened, I would try making the mackerel dish again!

Okonomiyaki (or Japanese pancakes) is something I’ve been meaning to make for a long time. My cousin J and her husband J made it for me once and it was quite delicious! Thanks! When you put the fish flakes on, it wiggles around due to the heat. It’s the best part!

The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning “what you like” or “what you want”, and yaki meaning “grilled” or “cooked.” Not sure how authentic my recipe is, as I put whatever vegetables I had into this dish. But who cares, as long as you end up with a delicious experiment?

Over Memorial Day weekend, I had a few friends over for a leisurely dinner and relaxation. We paired this with a “make your own summer rolls” spread, as it was super hot in my place to make anything else requiring heat.

L-R: Fish sauce, peanut sauce, Sriracha sauce. I love sauces!!!!!

I didn’t follow a recipe but will share what I did. I find adding eggs to the batter helps rid of the floury aftertaste. Feel free to omit/add whatever vegetables or seafood you’d like!