Candied Dried Sardines (田作り, Tazukuri)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide skillet
• •Cooking chopsticks or a flexible spatula
• •Tray lined with parchment, or a lightly oiled metal tray
• •Lacquered jubako box for osechi, or a small lacquer dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Sort the fish

   Pick through the gomame and remove broken bits, loose powder, and any fish that smell stale or sharply oily. Good gomame should smell clean and savory, not rancid. Sourcing first, always: the glaze is too thin to hide tired fish, and it shouldn't try.

2. 2

   Toast until brittle

   Set a wide dry skillet over low heat and add the gomame. Stir and toss gently for 6 to 8 minutes, until they feel light, dry, and crisp between your fingers. Don't brown them hard. You're driving off moisture so the glaze stays on the surface instead of sinking in.

   This is the first secret. If the fish are not dry before glazing, tazukuri turns sticky and chewy instead of clean and crisp.
3. 3

   Cool the fish

   Spread the toasted gomame on a tray and let them cool for a few minutes. Cooling shows you whether they are truly crisp. If they soften as they sit, return them to the pan for another minute or two over low heat.

4. 4

   Make the glaze

   Wipe out the skillet, then add the sugar, soy sauce, sake, and mirin. Cook over medium-low heat, swirling the pan, until the bubbles grow small and glossy and the syrup lightly coats a spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. Stop before it smells caramel-dark or bitter. The glaze should season the fish, not bully them.

5. 5

   Coat quickly

   Return the gomame to the pan and fold them through the glaze with chopsticks or a spatula, working quickly so every fish gets a thin shine. Add the sesame seeds and toss once more. If the glaze tightens too fast, add 1 teaspoon water and warm it gently until it loosens.

6. 6

   Separate and cool

   Tip the tazukuri onto a lightly oiled tray or parchment and spread the fish apart while warm. They set as they cool, so this is when you keep them from clumping into one heroic lump. Serve at room temperature, glossy and crisp.

Chef Tips

• •Look for gomame or tazukuri niboshi, small whole dried sardines about 3 to 5 cm long. Avoid large niboshi meant for stock; their bitterness and hard texture make the New Year dish heavy.
• •A wide skillet is better than a small pan. The fish dry evenly when they have room, and you can coat them quickly without crushing the heads and tails.
• •Do not chase a thick candy shell. Honmono tazukuri has a thin soy-sugar gloss, enough to shine and season, with the fish still plainly themselves.
• •For osechi, pack only a small mound in the jubako. Leave it room. New Year food is generous because it is considered, not because it overflows.

Advance Preparation

• •Tazukuri is made for keeping. Store it in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 1 week.
• •If the pieces lose their crispness, spread them on a tray for 10 minutes in a low oven, then cool completely before serving.
• •Pack it into the osechi box on the day you serve so the glaze stays glossy and the fish keep their shape.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 13g)