Kozakana No Nitsuke - Small Fish Simmered In Japanese Sauce

Song:  Caribbean Blue

Artist:  Enya

You may buy these small pre-gutted and frozen small fish 

from almost any Asian market.

The bones are easily eaten...

and, most importantly...

give a balanced form of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

This means that it is readily absorbed by the human body

and utilized in the formation of bone in our own bodies.

(That is why an excess of calcium builds plaques and deposits in the body.

Without enough magnesium and phosphorus in the right amounts...

calcium won't go towards the building of the bones...

and causes harm to the body).

Start by just covering the bottom of the pan with water.

Add soy sauce or diluted Memmi (ratio of 1 Memmi to 4 water)...

and a couple tablespoons of sugar.

Defrost and wash off the small fish.

Add the fish to the partially completed sauce.

Bring to a low boil... 

Then add Mirin (to taste...about 1/4 cup).

Then add about the same amount of Sake.

and then let it simmer for approximately 15 minutes.

Note:  You could easily add all the sauce ingredients at the beginning.

My mother simply wanted to get the cooking process done more quickly...

as a lesser amount of sauce boils more quickly.

The then added sauce quickly brings down the temperature to the simmering level.

Carefully remove the fish (very soft at this point)...

and add just enough of the sauce to cover about half the fish in a bowl.

They are then ready to eat.

In the meantime...

I made some more 'Reno Red Hots' to compliment tonight's supper

(I covered the making of these in an earlier article).

You may use Korean Radish...or turnips.

These were Korean Radishes.

I used just the smaller one for this night's pickles.

My mother then sliced up some Japanese Daikon...

and simmered them in the remainder of the sauce for about 30 minutes.

Earlier in the day...

I had gone to an Asian market.

I also picked up some fresh Bim Bap (Korean equivalent of Japanese Makizushi).

You could also eat the heads of the fish...

but we just removed them...

and gave them to Hana (my mother's dog).

Hana loves cooked fish.

This is a quick and very healthful meal...

besides being quite inexpensive.

(Note:  The beer we drink is O'douls.

It is essentially non-alcholic.

We call it non-beer :)

Even if you are not a big fish eater...

this is a great way to get so many essential nutrients

in a small, but delicious, package.

This meal is highly digestible...

very flavorful...

gives many essential fish oils...

and other easily assimilated nutrients.