Easy Japanese Canned Mackerel Recipe

If you wonder how to eat canned mackerel and rice, this Japanese canned mackerel recipe is for you! It's simple and easy to make but so delicious!

Canned mackerel is a popular choice among canned fish in Japan. It's a fatty fish and is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. It's easy for busy families to cook nutritious meals with various vegetables, so we always keep cans of fish in our pantry.

If you love Japanese rice and mackerel, this authentic flavored rice is perfect for you!

This recipe is for you if:
• You are looking for a canned mackerel recipe with rice.
• You are looking for a Japanese canned mackerel recipe.
• You wonder how to eat canned mackerel.

Let me show you how to make one of my favorite canned fish recipes!
Let's get started!

Jump to:

• About This Recipe
• 📋 Ingredients
• 🔪Instructions
• Dishes to serve with
• Rice and Canned Mackerel FAQ
• Thanks for Stopping By!
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

About This Recipe

• Japanese mackerel recipe
• Canned mackerel and rice
• Cook rice on the stove (You can cook it in a rice cooker too)
• Cooking time: 55 minutes (soaking time 30 mins)

📋 Ingredients

Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).

• Japanese short-grain rice: It's very starchy, soft, sticky, and sweet compared to long-grain rice. If you are unfamiliar with it, you can check this recipe: How to Cook Japanese Short-Grain Rice on the Stove. You can also substitute it with other types of rice (ex. brown rice)
• Canned mackerel: This recipe uses the type of mackerel in water with no salt added. You can also use the one in oil, although it might get a little greasy if you don't remove the extra oil. (You can read more about canned mackerel in the FAQ below.)
• Other ingredients: Carrot, ginger, aburaage, and scallion. Aburaage is deep-fried tofu, which adds a little chewy texture to the dish. Please feel free to ignore it if you can't find it at a store.
• Seasoning: Sake (Japanese rice wine), soy sauce, and salt.

Canned Mackerel

Canned mackerel is great because it's:

• Nutrient-dense food such as healthy fats (DHA and EPA) and vitamin D can contribute significantly to meeting your daily values.
• Versatile in various cooking methods and easy to cook with.
• Available all through the year.
• Reasonably priced.

DHA is an essential element for brain development, so if you have children, it's good to make fresh mackerel recipes for their growth.

It's not only nutritious but also easy to cook with. You can make mackerel omelettes, mackerel burgers, mackerel fish cakes, stir fry, pasta, mackerel melts, mackerel salad, mackerel patties, etc. The usage is endless!

🔪Instructions

I'd like to go over how to make it. You can also watch this video.

1. Prepare rice: The first step is to rinse the rice. Rinse rice under running water 3-4 times quickly, and soak in water for over 30 minutes. Soaking is the key to having fluffy and chewy Japanese rice. If it's not soaked, the rice grain center will remain hard.
2. Prepare ingredients: Shred carrots and ginger, cut aburaage into strips, and chop scallions. Open the lid of the canned mackerel and drain the water. If you want to remove the fat on the mackerel, wrap it up and dry it with paper towels.
3. Bring to a boil: Drain the water in the pot, add 2 cups of water (360ml), and turn on the heat over medium heat to bring to a boil. Then add sake, soy sauce, and salt.
4. Stir: Stir with a shamoji (Japanese rice spoon) or a big spoon.
5. Simmer: Place carrots, ginger, aburaage, and mackerel on top, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes on low heat. (We don't mix ingredients with rice at this point; we will at the end.)
6. Steam: Turn off the heat and leave it for 10 minutes with the lid on. (The rice inhales steam inside the pot and will become more fluffy.)

Open the lid, add the chopped green onion, and stir the hot steamed rice gently.

Enjoy it right away; that's the best way! It has deep flavor and is such a delicious meal!

After adding the chopped scallion, I usually stir and make the mackerel into smaller pieces; it's an easy way to eat for kids.

As shown in the photo above, you can serve it by placing a chunk of fish and sprinkling the scallions on the top instead of making a mackerel mixture. This one looks more photogenic. Either way is good!

Storage

If you have leftovers, wrap one serving in cling wrap and keep them in the freezer. For best results, please eat within one month.

Please warm it in the microwave when you eat it.

Dishes to serve with

Why don't you serve these with traditional Japanese dishes to make a complete meal?

• Tofu Teriyaki and Mushrooms
• Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelette)
• Daikon Miso Soup
• Cucumber with Shiokombu

Rice and Canned Mackerel FAQ

Thanks for Stopping By!

Does this recipe sound good to you? Canned mackerel is a healthy food that goes very well with rice. I hope you will try this Japanese-style main dish and enjoy it.

I hope this recipe is helpful to you.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog♡. If you’ve tried this recipe (or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!

Also feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!

Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes, including vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.

More Canned Mackerel Recipes You Might Like

• Canned Mackerel Omelette

📖 Recipe