Pickled Fish Takes The Plunge!
In the prime time of tinned fish, I have a predilection to pickled herring that come from small glass jars. Topped upon a thin crispy slice of dark rye bread, a slather of cream cheese and a spring of fresh dill — there’s nothing I’d rather relish for a snack some days. That was until I found perhaps a more perfect version in shime saba (しめ鯖), Japanese cured mackerel.
It wasn’t until my first time in Japan, just over a decade ago, that I first experienced the splendor of this marinated fish. Both herring and mackerel are impressively rich in omega-3 fatty acids — a blessing and a curse in that this can cause the fish to spoil quickly. By pickling them, they can last for weeks, if not months, sometimes seasons, stretching the shelf life of seafood way past the daily catch. Both involve a two-step process, in which the fish is first cured with salt to extract the water, then brined in subtly sweet and somewhat savory vinegar solution. Whereas the mackerel sits for hours, if not days, until ready, herring is meant to be kept submerged in liquid until it’s completely eaten.
In 2006, Keiko Suzuki Steinberger, came to the United States from the city of Sendai in the Miyagi Prefecture of Japan, the supposed birthplace of shimesaba. Her restaurant, Suzuki’s Sushi Bar in Rockland, Maine, serves local seafood through the lens of her culinary training in Tokyo. “I use Marukan (seasoned rice vinegar) — since it was [the brand] that was always around [in Japan]. First, just a tiny bit in rinsing water, when cleaning the fish [before pickling it].”. The acid is in stark contrast to the oily fish, which is much larger during the fall/winter. The vinegar cuts through the fatty fish, adding a layer of sourness that makes the overall bite brighter, and excellent for sashimi.
Pickling is as much a preservation method as a way to imbue flavor – from fish to shrimp to mussels – in the styles from around the globe. At Shalom Japan, In Brooklyn, NY, husband and wife team, Aaron Israel and Sawako Okochi, put their own spin on shime saba, curing mackerel first in sugar and salt for an hour or so, then rice vinegar and kombu for another few. Once sliced, this fish is meant to top rice in an antiquated maki roll called “oshizushi, an old Kyoto-style sushi pressed in a bamboo box,” says Israel. It predates the more current, fresher edomae sushi we see today. “Fish came to port in Osaka, then got cured and shipped to the capital Kyoto,” states Okochi. Vinegar was used in place of refrigeration.
Pickling fish for transport is still utilized in the present-day. Hank Shaw, of the award-winning website, Hunt, Gather, Cook, puts this practice to use when storing the herring and pike that he fishes from his hometown Minnesotan lakes and river. Not only does the pickling preserve the fish, but, additionally, “the vinegar softens the little bones,” he says. “Bonus: Calcium, too! There’s a significant Scandinavian population in and around the Twin Cities, which gives pickled fish due respect, but Shaw is also inspired by time spent living in Sacramento, CA, where pickled shad is popular. “Generally speaking, you eat this stuff on crackers while watching football or catching more fish through the ice,” he says.
But down in warmer weather, Chef Nina Compton, whose Compére Lapin, is a stalwart in NOLA, isn’t necessarily about preserving fish, as it is about preserving culture, and creating flavors and textures on the plate that resonate with her life story. Her recently reopened BABs, née Bywater American Bistro, harmoniously draws from her Caribbean roots, while looking towards the Southern culinary influences that surround her. “In St. Lucia, we normally use vinegar for souse, pickled pork [meat served in a clear broth] —fish is normally served as is, steamed, fried or stewed.” In New Orleans, Compton has unending access to catfish and shrimp, both of which have appeared on her knees in pickled form. “Our pickled shrimp has a snap to it, it’s a very firm texture, and the flavor is very subtle”. It’s about catching fish at their peak, or as Compton says, “it’s a start to your meal — it opens your appetite — a good fresh bite that keeps you wanting more.”
In her recipe for said pickled shrimp, a buttermilk dressing, which is very tangy, but also fatty, helps create “a complete, perfect bite.” Like Suzuki Steinberger, Compton uses Marukan rice vinegar to marinate the shrimp. “It’s a very balanced vinegar. Champagne or white [vinegars] are too astringent and very sharp.” Compton adds a little red wine vinegar to the dressing, too, “for a rounder flavor profile.”
In another NOLA-inspired example, Alex Kemp, who hails from Montreal, opened his French-y restaurant, My Loup, in Philadelphia, PA, and put pickled shrimp on the menu inspired by a meal at Mosquito Supper Club. “It’s something nice that’s not necessarily seasonal,” says Kemp, who serves pickled shrimp with ramp leaves in the springtime, and basil in the winter, alongside saltine crackers and aioli. Kemp cooks the shrimp whole in the pickling liquid, which interestingly combines champagne or cava vinegar, olive oil and salt, with clam juice instead of water to give it a real brininess. For a Spanish-inspired mussels escabeche, a marinated seafood dish of Latin culture, Kemp blends white wine vinegar with tons of aromatics and steeps the shellfish for three days, resulting in a transportive taste of the shores of Galicia. But if you can’t travel to Spain for specialty seafood, then at least the fish can come, in vinegar, to us.