Shime Saba

Mackerel in Vinegared Dressing. A day ahead, sprinkle the fish on both sides with salt and place the fillets in a deep glass, stainless-steel or enameled baking dish large enough to hold them in one layer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Then remove any remaining bones with tweezers. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, water and sugar, and pour over the fish. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. Then place the fish on a cutting board and slice the fish diagonally into 1/2-inch-wide pieces. Divide the dish into 4 portions and arrange the slices side by side on individual plates or in small soup bowls. Garnish each portion with 2 tablespoons of namasu and a sprig of parsley. Sprinkle each serving of fish evenly with grated ginger and accompany with individual bowls of sambai-zu. Shime saba will serve four as a first course, or it will serve two as a main course for lunch. Sambai-zu Rice Vinegar and Soy Dipping Sauce 2 1/2 T rice vinegar 2 tsp Japanese all-purpose soy sauce 2 1/2 T niban dashi 1/8 tsp salt 4 tsp sugar MSG Combine the rice vinegar, niban dashi, sugar, soy sauce and salt in a 1-quart enameled or stainless-steel saucepan and sprinkle lightly with MSG. Stirring constantly, bring the sauce to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Then immediately remove the pan from the heat and set the sauce aside to cool to room temperature. SERVE: Serve the sambai-zu in tiny individual cups or dishes, as a dipping sauce for shime saba, kani kyuri ikomi, or kani sunomono. Makes about 1/2 cup.