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These little guys are called Aji in Japanese or Horse Mackerel in English. They are sold in a range of sizes from these ones (about 2 inches) up to about a foot long as adults. They are one of the all time most popular Japanese whole fish and they are readily available and cheap. They have a deliciously oily flesh (think omega 3 and all the good stuff) and are very simple to cook. I cleaned, headed and fried these and we ate the fins, tail and bones. As they get larger you have to avoid the bones but obviously there is more meat to enjoy. The only trick is to remove the row of pointed scales along the outside side of the tail and running towards the head. Slicing these off before they are cooked makes the skin more pleasant to eat and stops you from getting prickled.
Aji of any size is a particularly good fish to grill because it’s oily flesh doesn’t dry out quickly and it is quite thin so it cooks quickly. What would you call this fish in your country? I just discovered that it is technically Trachurus japonicus so maybe it is only a Japanese species? Any ideas?
I just had a vacation to Japan and had this fish butterflied at the belly and cooked or fried… it was a nice brown color. It was sooooo good so i have been looking for them in our japanese markets here in LA. So far I have found them named “spanish mackerel” and “horse mackerel.” I am still searching for something that sounds similar to the way they cooked it over there!
this fish is called sawrel in my country which is the island of Malta in the mediterranean .this morning i bought two from the market at Mosta and have been surfing on the net on how to cook them. your hints on how to debone them are good so thanks. I amputting them in the oven with lots of herbs and a dash of olive oil .