All You Need to Know About Japanese Grilled Fish, A Classic Japanese Dish Discover Oishii Japan -SAVOR JAPAN -Japanese Restaurant Reservation Guide-

Update-date: Oct 25 2023

Author: SAVOR JAPAN

All You Need to Know About Japanese Grilled Fish, A Classic Japanese Dish

Whether you steam it, simmer it, fry it, or grill it, there are a myriad of ways to enjoy the different flavors and textures of fish. Fish is an essential element in Japanese cuisine, with grilled fish being a staple on the breakfast table. What makes grilled fish so popular in Japan? Read on to find out!

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The Culture of Grilled Fish in Japan

The Japanese term "yaki-zakana" means grilled or fried fish. It is impossible to find out when exactly yakizakana came about in Japan, but it holds a crucial role in Japanese cuisine today.

Japanese people believe that grilled dishes are the best way to test and highlight the skills of a chef, so the chef responsible for grilling fish in a restaurant is usually highly skilled. Traditionally, grilled fish is seasoned with one of these four incredibly simple seasoning combinations: salt only, soy sauce and wine, soy sauce and mirin, or miso and sugar. The fish is grilled over charcoal until it is just slightly undercooked, and then plated immediately. By the time it is served, the residual heat would have cooked the fish thoroughly, making it a juicy and tender delight. Only a handful of chefs have a good grasp of this technique, which is what makes grilled fish such an important dish in Japanese cuisine.

Common Ways to Grill Fish

Thanks to the rapid development of modern cooking appliances, there are now more ways to grill fish. However, for those who have experienced dining in Japan, you would have noticed that the Japanese tend to stick to a small handful of ways to grill fish. Which of the following styles of grilled fish have you tried?

Open Fire

Since the discovery of fire, humans have realized just how delicious food cooked over an open fire is. Today, grilling food on an open fire is still very common in Japan. Many restaurants will skewer their ingredients and grill them over a gas grill to make popular dishes such as yakitori, grilled fish, and so on.

Salt-Grilled

Salt-grilling, or "shioyaki" in Japanese, is the most common technique for cooking fish in Japan. Fish is marinated in salt and then grilled over a fire. Inspired by foreign cooking techniques, some restaurants have adopted a new method where a whole fish is completed caked in coarse salt and grilled. Regardless of which method is used, salt-grilling is perfect for bringing out the wonderful umami of fish.

Charcoal-Grilled

You might be wondering, how is charcoal grilling different from regular grilling? When charcoal is used in Japanese cooking, they purposefully make the fire small, cooking the food using the far infrared rays emitted from the bright red charcoals. Not only does this actually cook the food faster, it also avoids burning the skin, and gives the food a much more fragrant aroma compared to regular fire-grilling.

Saikyoyaki

Saikyoyaki is a very traditional Japanese method of preparing food. Since the Heian Period (AD 927), miso has been used to marinate and preserve fish to make it last. In those days, miso was very rare and valuable, so only nobles and officials had the luxury of eating it. Among the different types of miso, Saikyo miso is a type of white miso specific to Kyoto. It is relatively sweeter and has a milder color compared to ordinary miso. And so Saikyoyaki, where fish is marinated and cooked in Saikyo miso, also comes out sweeter and more delicate, without the usual intensely salty flavor of regular miso. This made Saikyoyaki extremely popular, and it became a status symbol. It wasn't until the middle of the Muromachi Period, more than 500 years later, that Saikyoyaki became more affordable, and henceforth a beloved household dish.

Where to Enjoy Delicious Grilled Fish

Does reading about all the different ways of grilling fish make you wonder how different they actually taste? Here are our top restaurant recommendations for where to savor some of the best grilled fish in Japan!

1. Naniwa Japanese Barbecue Restaurant －Nagoya

Naniwa Japanese Barbecue Restaurant, Hakkaku Dai Nagoya Building Branch

Seasonal fish and vegetables are grilled right in front of customers in this robatayaki restaurant. Robatayaki literally means "fireside-cooking." When it is in season, freshly caught Pacific saury is delivered from Chimai in Hokkaido directly to the restaurant. Apart from Pacific saury, the restaurant gets exclusive deliveries of a whole host of other carefully selected ingredients, such as mackerel, octopus, and so on.

Chef Tomohiro Adachi, who also manages the restaurant, fell in love with cooking while he was working. He trained at many different kinds of restaurants, including Korean BBQ, yakitori, and Japanese restaurants, to hone and perfect his grilling skills. His Salt-Grilled Saury is delightfully juicy, and he manages to utilize the saltiness that comes with salt-grilling to perfectly complement the sweetness of the saury. It's a great place to relax and enjoy a drink while you watch your food being cooked for you right before your eyes.

Naniwa Japanese barbecue restaurant, Hakkaku Dai Nagoya building Branch

Open: Lunch 11:00 am - 3:00 pm (L.O. 2:00 pm), Dinner 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm (Food L.O. 10:00 pm, Drinks L.O. 10:15 pm)
Closed: Open all year (except New Year's Day)
Average price: [Dinner] 3,500 JPY / [Lunch] 950 JPY
Access: 1- 5 minutes walk from Nagoya Station on any line
Address: 3F, 3-28-12 Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Map
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2. Grilled Fish and Sushi Yakino Uojima －Naha

Not only do you get to indulge in the freshest catch of the day at Yakino Uojima, customers also get to choose how they want their fish cooked. As this restaurant is run by a fish wholesaler, freshness is guaranteed and at a very reasonable price. Be it sashimi, sushi, or traditional grilled fish, everything is delicious. Excess fat is grilled off the fish, further enhancing the tastiness and sweetness of the meat, especially when it is accompanied by freshly grated daikon radish.

Apart from fish dishes like grilled fish and sashimi, their anko monaka is also worth trying. Traditionally, monaka is made with sweet azuki bean filling sandwiched between two thin crisp wafers, but the monaka here is filled with anko (anglerfish) liver pâté. Not only does it look unique, the anglerfish liver pâté is exquisite. The umami and fragrance of this dish will certainly leave you coming back for more.

Grilled fish and Sushi Yakino Uojima

Open: Lunch 11:00 am - 3:00 pm (L.O. 2:30 pm), Dinner 5:30 pm - 12:00 am (L.O. 11:00 pm)
Closed: Open all year
Average price: [Dinner] 4,000 JPY / [Lunch] 1,000 JPY
Access: 3-minute walk from Yokoyama intersection on Route 58
Address: 2-16-3 Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa Map
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3. Nodoguro-no-Nakamata Tsukiji －Tokyo

This izakaya (Japanese pubs) is operated by a store specializing in nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch), which is why they are particularly renowned for their fresh seaperch dishes. Among the many ways of cooking the fish, the most popular is genshiyaki, an ancient Japanese cooking style where skewered ingredients are slowly heated with charcoal.

Though this cooking method takes time and effort, fish cooked this way comes out amazingly aromatic, crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. This is the best way to preserve the mouthwatering freshness of not just any type of seafood, but even other kinds of meat like Kuroge Wagyu beef and domestic chicken.

The restaurant has a stylish yet traditional Japanese decor, and the tranquil atmosphere can be felt as soon as you walk through the door. Come here to relax, chat, and enjoy delicious traditional Japanese food with a group of friends.

Nodoguro-no-Nakamata Tsukiji

Open: [Monday - Saturday] Dinner 5:00 pm - 12:00 am
Closed: Sunday
Average price: [Dinner] 7,000 JPY
Access: 2-minute walk from [Tsukiji Station] or [Higashi Ginza Station] on Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line
Address: 106, Central Higashi Ginza, 2-15-15 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Map
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4. Hakodate Kaisenryori Kaikobo －Hakodate

Located in Hakodate, a port city renowned for freshly caught seafood, it goes without saying that this restaurant gets its fresh daily selection of seafood from Hakodate Asaichi, the local morning market. The huge water tank in the middle of the restaurant houses the fresh seafood purchases of the day, and customers can choose what ingredients they want directly from the tank. For those who struggle to get out of bed to visit the morning market, just come straight here for your fresh seafood of the day or a kaisen-don (seafood bowl) for very reasonable prices!

While the best way to truly savor the freshness of seafood is to eat it raw, the grilled seafood dishes here are also outstandingly good. Nothing is too difficult for the expert chefs here; everything is grilled to succulent perfection, leaving customers enchanted by the delectable world of seafood. Their traditional saikyoyaki is best enjoyed with a bowl of steamed rice. The miso is grilled and caramelized perfectly in order to complement the sweetness of the fish, and it retains its delicate flavor even when eaten cold.

Hakodate Kaisenryori Kaikobo

Open: Lunch 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, Dinner 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Closed: Irregular
Average price: [Dinner] 4,000 JPY / [Lunch] 1,500 JPY
Access: A 3-minute walk from JR Hakodate station towards the Hakodate Asaichi Market.
Address: 11-8 Wakamatsu-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido Map
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All that talk about grilled fish has surely whet your appetite by now. Next time you're at a seafood restaurant in Japan, why not order different types of grilled fish to compare their flavors?

Disclaimer: All information is accurate at time of publication.