Yuki Gomi, chef, teacher and friend of The Wasabi Company, talks us through why sake is ideal for steaming seafood. See more from Yuki at Japanese Food. Simply. All photos by Keiko Oikawa.
In Japanese cooking there’s a super, practical technique that appears often in home cooking. Sakamushi, simply means steaming ingredients with Sake. I love it and the idea is straightforward. Fish or shellfish is placed in a pan with a little sake and covered so it cooks in the steam. The sake adds aroma, helps soften stronger smells in seafood and leaves behind a light savoury broth as the dish cooks.
It might sound minimal, but it works for several good reasons. When sake heats, the alcohol carries aroma into the food while it evaporates. At the same time, the natural sugars and amino acids in sake add gentle sweetness and umami to the cooking liquid. Even once the alcohol has evaporated, those compounds remain, which is why the broth tastes fuller than plain steamed fish.
Japanese cooks have used sake like this for centuries. It helps balance the flavour of fish and keeps the texture moist and tender. You see it used in many simple seafood dishes, including Asari no Sakamushi, where clams are steamed with sake until they open and release their own salty liquor into the broth.
You will also often see Japanese cooks lightly salt fish before steaming it. The salt draws out a little surface moisture and firms the flesh slightly. After a quick pat dry, the fish cooks more cleanly and the flavour becomes a little sweeter.
For fish, the method works particularly well with white varieties like cod. The flesh is delicate, and steaming it gently with sake allows the natural flavour of the fish to stay clear rather than being masked by heavier sauces.
I still cook the kind of food I grew up with in Japan, but with ingredients I pick up here in London. Fresh cod from the fish counter works beautifully for sakamushi, and vegetables like pak choi or oriental mushrooms (so easy to find here now in the supermarket) steam nicely alongside it.
One of the things I like about this style of cooking is how everything cooks together in the same pan. Vegetables go in first, the fish sits on top, and as the steam builds the juices run through the whole dish. By the time it is ready, you have tender fish, cooked greens and a light broth that ties everything together.
Another small detail is that the vegetables are not just there for flavour. They act as a natural steaming rack, lifting the fish slightly so the steam circulates underneath while catching the juices that drip down as it cooks. By the end, the vegetables are seasoned by the fish and the broth at the same time.
Ginger works especially well here. Its warmth lifts the aroma of the sake without overpowering the fish. Mushrooms add depth, spring onions add freshness, and a little soy sauce gives colour and savoury balance.
Right at the end I like to add a squeeze of citrus. In Japan that might be yuzu, which sharpens the flavour and makes the broth taste brighter. It is a small touch, but it pulls everything together. It’s definitely worth keeping a little bottle of yuzu juice in the fridge, as the distinctive citrusy flavour is more floral than lemon or lime.
One useful thing about sakamushi is that it creates its own broth. The sake mixes with the juices from the fish and the moisture from the vegetables as everything steams together. A small amount of soy sauce added towards the end deepens the flavour without making the dish heavy. It is a light broth, but one that tastes much fuller than the ingredients might suggest.
The whole dish takes only a few minutes to cook. A meal that works well on a weekday evening, but it also feels like proper home cooking. Served with rice, the cooking juices become part of the meal rather than something left behind in the pan.
Sakamushi shows how much Japanese cooking relies on simple techniques rather than complicated recipes. Good fish, a splash of sake and a few minutes of gentle steam do most of the work. The saucey broth that forms in the pan often becomes the best part of the dish.
View the recipe for Cod Sakamushi with Ginger, Mushrooms and Yuzu here
© Yuki's Kitchen Ltd. 2021
This article was originally published on Japanese Food. Simply. by chef and teacher Yuki Gomi.
Yuki blends traditional and modern techniques to make Japanese cooking approachable and delicious.
