Marinated Fish with Sugar and Salt.
This could be a fish appetizer on your tables for an important dinner.
You will certainly make a great impression with very little work and very little expense.
For this dish, you can use all types of oily fish that weigh equal to or more than 1 pound.
Therefore not suitable for sardines, anchovies, and other small fish.
I used bonito, but mackerel, tuna, and swordfish are also good choices.
Contrary to what it may seem, the fish will not absorb the calories from the sugar, nor from the salt.
Recipes thought for you:
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 6 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 288.61 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 6.22 (g) of which sugars 5.01 (g)
- Proteins 35.96 (g)
- Fat 12.31 (g) of which saturated 0.01 (g)of which unsaturated 0.02 (g)
- Fibers 0.57 (g)
- Sodium 889.68 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 125 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
LET’S GO SHOPPING
- 1.5 lbs bonito (tuna or other oily fish)
- 1.5 cups fine salt
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 5 leaves bay leaves
- to taste roast fish seasoning
- to taste pepper
- to taste salad
- to taste balsamic glaze (or shaved Parmesan)
Tools
What we need to prepare the
- Cutting Board
- Knife for filleting
- Colander / Strainer
- Plate
Preparation of Marinated Fish with Sugar and Salt
Choose good fresh fish,
these are mackerels, but,
all tuna species are perfectly fine
Bonito
In a large bowl, add all the salt and sugar, crumble the bay leaves, and add 2 teaspoons of fish roast seasoning.
Mix well.
in another bowl, place a layer of flavored sugar and salt about 1/4 inch thick.
Place the fish fillets on top.
Cover them completely and generously.
Level with a teaspoon.
Place in the fridge to marinate for at least 6 hours.
After 6 hours, you will notice that there is some liquid in the bowl, and the fillets have shrunk and hardened. Perfect, everything is okay.
Take out the fish and briefly rinse it under running water.
Then dry it, and slice the fillets as thinly as possible
Serve the fish on a bed of salad to taste and sprinkle a little balsamic or soy glaze on top, depending on your preference.
Here is the Marinated Bonito Fish with Sugar and Salt ready.
And here is the tuna with the same recipe but with arugula and shaved Parmesan
storage and advice
Marinated Fish with Sugar and Salt: The dish can be stored in the fridge for a maximum of 1 day.
Upon returning home, if you have a blast chiller, it is better to put the fish there and keep it for at least 2 hours, then let it thaw on the lower shelf of your fridge. If you don’t have a blast chiller but have a good freezer, put it there for 24 hours at -8°F, then thaw it in the fridge on the lower shelf, then proceed with the recipes.

