Shiozake or Shiojyake is Japanese salted salmon. Shio is salt in Japanese, and both zake and jyake is salmon. Why are there two ways for labelling salmon in Japanese?
There is not ,a clear explanation but the most likely theory is the term Jyake originated in the indigenous Ainu people’s language, who live in mainly Hokkaido island. Most people in Hokkaido call salmon Syake or Jyake (when the word is combined with Shio). Hokkaido is famous for Salmon and my uncle who lives in Hokkaido sent us a whole salted salmon every season!
Until I came to live in Australia, I have never ever had salmon cooked in a different way from salted. I believed salted salmon is the only way to cook and eat salmon in Japan. If you go to Japan, you only find salted salmon fillets in supermarkets. You will not find uncooked salmon unless you go to a fish market like Tokyo Tukiji fish market – the biggest fish market in the world.
Shiozake salted salmon is usually served as part of traditional type of Japanese breakfast along with rolled egg, or in lunch box, Obento. I really miss this salted salmon because I think salted salmon is the best way to eat salmon. However, I never ever see salted salmon in Australia so I have decided to make my own and share the recipe with Japanese food lovers. I have never made my own salted salmon because it was readily available from any supermarkets in Japan. So I asked my father. My father was a fisherman and he knows how to cook any fish. When I have any questions about fish, I ask my father.
I bought salmon fillets packed individually from Aldi! Take two fillets out and salt them with 5 % salt of salmon weight. Refrigerate them overnight and grill in oven. How simple it is! In Japan, cooking tops have a special compartment to grill fish. Of course, people here do not eat fish as often as Japanese do, I used my fan forced conventional oven grill setting. At 180 degree Celsius it took only 7-8 minutes.
Instructions
- Pat dry the salmon fillets with kitchen paper towel.
- Pour and sprinkle sake over salmon fillets.
- Sprinkle salt on both sides of salmon fillets.
- Wrap the salmon fillets with kitchen paper towel and cling wrap over.
- Refrigerate the fillets over night or at least 7-8 hours.
- Grill for 7-8 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees celsius.
- Serve with plain steamed rice.
Hi Elizabeth and Shihoko!
I’m so grateful I came across this super simple salmon recipe as I was thinking of new bento ideas for autumn!
I was wondering how is best to keep shiozake once it’s made? How long does it last in the fridge? Does it freeze well?
Cheers
Luciana
Hi Luciana, Thank you for visiting. The shiozake will last about 2 weeks in fridge, and about 4 weeks in freezer. If you are going to keep them in the freezer, remove any liquid off with paper towel, and wrap them individually with cling wrap to freeze 😀
Hi Chopstick Chronicles!
I just make my own salted salmon but I would like to check if there’s any other way to cook the salted salmon? Can I marinate it with miso before cooking it?
Hi Szuyen, I don’t think there is any other way to cook salted salmon. If you marinate it, it will be miso-marinated salmon. Shio means salted so we only use salt.
I live in Tokyo, and I buy raw salmon filets all the tom from my local market! They even sell raw salmon at cheap stores like Seiyu. You can definitely find raw salmon (that is for cooking) in Japan outside Tsukiji!
That’s great! Thank you for updating the information. I am from small country town and lived there 30 something years ago.
I love salmon and this recipe!
thank you! I love salmon too xD
What did you use to garnish the fish? I was curious what vegetable that was? Thank you!
Hi Joe, It was young sprouts of…. something Sorry I can not remember. But it is commonly available from local supermarkets. I will check and get back to you.
Awesome, thank you so much!
Looks like alfalfa to me! This is very common and easy to buy but it also incredibly easy to grow as you can just leave it on you kitchen bench and pick some off when needed!
William, not alfalfa but rather radish sprouts. It is a common garnish in Japanese cuisine.
Thank you Eli 😀
Hi! Great recipe.
When you said I can keep it in the fridge for 2 weeks, did you mean I can keep in after marinating but before grilling?
Or should I grill them all and only then keep in for 2 weeks?
Thanks!
Yes. before grilling 😀
By grilling, do you mean broiling? I am from the US and our stoves are quite… primitive.
How close do you put into to the grill? What should it look like when it’s done cooking?
Any help on making this in the US is appreciated! I’d love to make it for onigiri.
Hi Katie, You can broiling too. I used grill setting of my conventional oven and placed in middle. It should be pink and firm and slightly brown. I will update this post soon with more details 😀