Japanese Nanbanzuke: Southern Barbarian Vinegar-Marinated Fried Fish

Ingredients

• 600 g small whole fish (smelt, aji/horse mackerel, sardine, karei, or chicken pieces), cleaned and dried thoroughly
• 50 g plain flour or potato starch, for dredging
• as needed neutral oil, for deep-frying
• For the marinade
• 160 ml rice vinegar
• 80 ml dashi
• 80 ml mirin
• 40 ml soy sauce
• 1–2 tsp sugar, to taste
• 1–2 dried togarashi (Japanese dried chilli), left whole or sliced into rings
• For the vegetables
• 1 medium (approx. 150 g) onion, sliced very thin
• 1 medium (approx. 100 g) carrot, sliced very thin or julienned
• 1 (approx. 80 g) green pepper, sliced very thin

Method

1. 1
   Combine the rice vinegar, dashi, mirin, soy sauce, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the togarashi. Remove from the heat and keep hot. The marinade should smell sharp with vinegar and carry a rounded sweetness — taste and adjust sugar before proceeding.
2. 2
   Slice the onion, carrot, and green pepper very thin. Combine them in a bowl. The onion slices should be translucent and fine enough that they will wilt on contact with the hot marinade — if they hold a rigid curl, they are too thick.
3. 3
   Dry the fish thoroughly. Dredge each piece lightly and evenly in flour or potato starch, shaking off any excess. Heat the oil to frying temperature and fry the fish in batches until the exterior is crisp and golden and the fish is cooked through. Do not crowd the pan. Remove and drain briefly.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies. While the fried fish is still hot, arrange it in a single layer in a shallow dish. Scatter the sliced vegetables over and between the pieces. Pour the hot marinade immediately over the fish and vegetables, ensuring every piece is completely submerged. The heat of both the fish and the marinade together accelerates acid penetration — cold fish added to cold marinade produces a result without the acid character the dish requires. Press the vegetables down gently; they should wilt visibly in the hot liquid.
5. 5
   Allow the dish to cool to room temperature uncovered, then cover and refrigerate. After a minimum of 12 hours — and ideally 24 — the fish will have absorbed the marinade fully: the flesh will be tender throughout, the onion and carrot will have pickled slightly, and the sharp edge of the vinegar will have rounded into the dashi and mirin. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.