Miso Marinated Hamachi Bowl

My family enjoys sashimi, so we occasionally treat ourselves to delicious chilled seafood dinners at home. Among all the raw fish, our favorites include Salmon Sashimi Bowl and this Miso-Marinated Hamachi Bowl (ハマチ漬け丼). The wonderful thing about making sashimi bowls at home is they are utterly fuss-free! On a day when I don’t feel like spending too much time cooking, I can still pull off a refreshingly elegant meal with minimal effort. This recipe involves marinating the hamachi slices and top them over steamed rice. That’s how easy it is!

What’s Marinated Sashimi Bowl?

Marinated sashimi bowl is called Zukedon (漬け丼) in Japanese, and it means a donburi (don for short) consisting of marinated sashimi over a bed of steamed rice. Zuke means “to marinate”; sashimi is marinated in soy sauce, mirin, and sake (and miso in today’s recipe) for 30 minutes (or 2 hours at most).

Why You’ll Love Miso-Marinated Hamachi Bowl

Having sashimi in the freezer, you don’t need to go shopping to make this recipe. Little prepping and incredibly easy to make. Amazing restaurant-quality meal at home!

Hamachi (Yellowtail) – A Fine Choice for Sashimi & Sushi

Most people are familiar with salmon and tuna for sushi and sashimi, but hamachi is actually a highly sought-after fish in Japan. Known as Japanese amberjack or yellowtail, hamachi is a seasonal favorite in the colder months, and it’s one of the best fish to enjoy raw as sushi and sashimi. In Hawaii, hamachi poke is a wildly popular choice. Sometimes hamachi or yellowtail gets mistaken as a type of tuna, but it is a fish of an entirely different family. What makes hamachi so exceptional? At first bite, the flavor is delicate, then it leaves you with a silky, buttery taste that is simply irresistible. It has a rich flavor like toro, but not as overpoweringly fatty. The firm yet melt-in-mouth texture feels like a luxury!

Where to Get Sashimi-Grade Hamachi

These days I see more home cooks are venturing out to prepare meals like a professional chef! I’ve seen my friends making homemade noodles, sourdough bread, sushi, homemade pizza, ramen, and all. This movement is amazing! I also receive requests from my readers who crave for sushi and sashimi at Japanese restaurants. So this is one of my recommendations that you can make at home. You don’t even need to have any advanced knife skill or sushi roll techniques to pull it off. To get sashimi-grade fish, you have to either go to Japanese grocery stores (they carry sashimi-grade fish) or order online. We order sashimi-grade Hamachi from Catalina Offshore. A vacuumed-packed frozen Hamachi is delivered to your doorstep in a styrofoam box with dry ice in it. You can keep the frozen sashimi-grade fish in the home freezer for 2-3 weeks. Make sure the temperature is set to the coldest!

How to Defrost Sashimi-Grade Fish

There are two ways to defrost raw fish. The proper recommended way and unofficial way. The proper way is to defrost the sashimi-grade fish in the refrigerator overnight. The unofficial way is a “quick defrost”, which takes just 20-30 minutes from frozen to thaw. All you need to do is to submerge your frozen sashimi-grade fish in cold water still sealed in the vacuum package. I like the quick method because I can keep the sashimi-grade fish slightly firm, and it’s a lot easier to slice thinly and cleanly. It also doesn’t release as much moisture from the sashimi compared to the official method (thawing in the fridge) so it’s a lot cleaner to handle.

Tips to Slice Hamachi Sashimi

There are a few tips for slicing salmon sashimi that has worked for us.

How to Make Miso-Marinated Hamachi Bowl

It involves 5 steps. To make this delicious miso-based marinade, you’ll need only 5 ingredients.

Soy sauce Sake Mirin Miso Grated ginger

I use Enjuku Koji Miso by Hikari Miso for this recipe. Enjuku Koji Miso is Hikari Miso’s long-selling product for over 20 years since its introduction in 1993. The preservative-free miso features a mild flavor and rich fragrance incorporated with natural sweetness and robust umami of koji.

How Long Do We Marinate?

Depending on the flavor of the fish and how thick you cut it, you can always adjust to your preference. For me, I like to marinate Hamachi for at least 30 minutes or for a maximum of 2 hours. Find the perfect balance for your liking!

What Dishes To Serve with Miso-Marinated Hamachi Bowl

To make a complete meal, you can serve the Hamachi Bowl with a bowl of miso soup and 1-2 side dishes (salad, simmered dishes, etc).

Nameko Mushroom Miso Soup Pickled Cucumbers and Myoga Chawanmushi (Savory Egg Custard) Kinpira Renkon (Lotus Root) Spinach Salad with Sesame Sauce (Gomaae)

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