Salt Broiled Wild Trout (Shioyaki) with Ponzu sauce
- Serves: 4
- Preparation Time: 10 minutes
- Total Cooking time: varies with size of fish
This is one of the simplest, most practical, and to me – most delicious ways to prepare freshly caught trout. Called Shioyaki, or salt broiling, it originated in Japan where it is used primarily with Ayu, which is a species of fish only found in the streams, lakes and coast of Hokkaido, Japan. Since the chances of fresh Ayu finding its way into western markets is unfortunately slim to none, the nearest in comparison as regards to flavor is trout. While commercially farm raised trout is capable of producing very good results with this recipe, there is just something – well, esoteric for lack of a better word, with using freshly caught wild trout that has only recently been pulled from a cold mountain stream or lake and cleaned then grilled over hot coals or under a very hot broiler then dipped in Ponzu – it is simply and divinely delicious. Try this recipe and introduce your friends or family to a traditional taste of the Far East.
Fish
| Amount | Measure | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | lbs | Trout, butterflied (a fillet of salmon will work as well) |
| 6 | Tbsp | coarse salt |
Ingredients for Ponzu sauce
| Amount | Measure | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| 3/4 | cups | soy sauce (I use Silver swan brand if possible) |
| 2 | Tbsp | lemon juice |
| 1 | Tbsp | orange juice |
| 1 | tsp | seasoned rice wine vinegar |
To prepare:
Place the butterflied trout or salmon fillet on wax paper or tinfoil, skin side up. Sprinkle liberally with coarse salt and set aside 30 minutes. Heat a small sauce pan over medium high heat and add the soy sauce, lemon and orange juice and seasoned rice wine vinegar bring just to a boil then reduce heat and allow to simmer 5-10 minutes or until reduced slightly , set aside and allow to cool. Preheat a broiler or barbecue grill and place the trout skin side up (Skin side down for barbecue) 4″ inches below the broiler on a grilling rack/baking sheet and broil 5-7 minutes (longer for salmon fillet) or until skin puffs up from meat and begins to look crispy and meat flakes when gently poked with a fork. Remove from heat and serve with a small dish of Ponzu sauce remembering to remove the skin just before eating.
