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    Home » Recipes » Rice, Pasta and Noodle

    Japanese Canned Mackerel Rice

    May 20, 2022 by JURI · This post may contain affiliate links

    5 from 3 votes
    JUMP TO RECIPE JUMP TO VIDEO

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

    Japanese Canned Mackerel Rice

    Canned mackerel is a popular canned fish in Japan. It's a great source of fat and easy to cook with various vegetables, so we always keep them 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 it! 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).

    Ingredients of Japanese Canned Mackerel Rice
    • Japanese short-grain rice: It's very starchy, soft, sticky, and sweet compared to long-grain rice. If you are not familiar 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.
    • Canned mackerel: This recipe uses the one in water and no salt. You can also use the one in oil (It might get a little greasy, though). See more about canned mackerel below.
    • Other ingredients: Carrot, ginger, aburaage, and scallion. Aburaage is deep-fried tofu which adds a little chewy texture to the dish. If you can't find it at a store, you can omit it.
    • Seasoning: Sake (Japanese rice wine), soy sauce, and salt.

    Canned mackerel

    Japanese canned mackerel

    Canned mackerel is great because it's:

    • Nutrient-dense food such as healthy fat (DHA and EPA) and vitamin D.
    • Versatile in various cooking methods and easy to cook with.
    • Available all through the year.
    • Reasonable.

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

    It's not only nutritious but also easy to cook with. You can make omelette, stir fry, pasta, sandwiches, salad, patties, etc. The usage is endless.

    🔪Instructions

    Let's go over how to make it. You can also watch this video.

    How to make Japanese Canned Mackerel Rice
    1. Prepare rice: Rinse rice under running water 3-4 times quickly, and soak in water for more than 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 with a paper towel.)
    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 shamoji(Japanese rice spoon) or a big spoon.
    5. Simmer: Place carrots, ginger, aburaage, 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 gently.

    Japanese Canned Mackerel Rice

    Enjoy it right away! It has a deep flavor and so tasty!

    After adding the chopped scallion, I usually stir and make mackerel into small pieces to make it easy to eat for kids.

    Japanese Canned Mackerel Rice

    As shown in the photo above, you can serve it by keeping the mackerel's chunk and sprinkle the scallions on the top instead of mixing it all up. This one looks more photogenic. Either way is good.

    Storage

    If you have leftover, wrap one serving in cling wrap and keep them in the freezer. It will last up to one month.

    Please warm it in the microwave when you eat it.

    Dishes to serve with

    Why don't you serve with these Japanese traditional 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

    What is the ratio of water to rice?

    For Japanese rice, the ratio of rice: water is 1:1 or 1:1.1 depending on the rice. If it's too much water, then the rice will not be sticky and will be mussy.

    Can I use a rice cooker?

    Sure. In that case, put rice, water, and seasoning in a rice cooker pot, stir and place ingredients (except scallions) on top and cook. It will take about one hour.

    Can I add the soup of the canned mackerel too?

    Yes, you can. Some recipes use a whole can because the soup (or oil) contains plenty of nutrition from mackerel.

    What other ingredients do you recommend?

    Mushrooms and root vegetables such as radish and burdock are great too. Hijiki (seaweed) is also good.

    How do you eat canned mackerel?

    You can make omelette, stir fry, pasta, sandwiches, salad, patties, etc. There are so many ways to enjoy it.

    Thanks for Stopping By

    Does this recipe sound good to you? Canned mackerel is such a healthy food and goes well with rice so much. I hope you will try this Japanese-style 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 include vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.

    More Canned Mackerel Recipes You Might Like

    • Canned mackerel omelett

    📖 Recipe

    Japanese canned mackerel rice

    Japanese Canned Mackerel Rice

    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep: 35 minutes
    Cook: 20 minutes
    Total: 55 minutes
    Servings: 4 to 6 servings
    Author: JURI
    If you wonder how to eat canned mackerel and rice, this Japanese canned mackerel rice recipe is for you! It's simple and easy to make but so delicious!
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients
      

    • 360 ml Japanese short-grain rice, 300g or 2 Japanese rice cups
    • 360 ml Water, 2 Japanese rice cups
    • 1 Canned mackerel, 190g
    • ½ Carrot, 80g
    • 1 Aburaage, 25g
    • 1 clove Ginger
    • 1 Scallion

    Seasoning

    • 2 tablespoon Sake
    • 1 tablespoon Soy sauce
    • ½ teaspoon Salt

    Instructions

    • Prepare rice: Rinse rice under running water 3-4 times quickly, and soak in water for more than 30 minutes.
    • Cut ingredients: Shred carrots and ginger, cut aburaage into strips, and chop scallions.
    • Drain canned mackerel: Open the lid of the canned mackerel and drain the water.
    • 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.
    • Add seasoning: Add sake, soy sauce, and salt and stir.
    • Simmer: Place carrots, ginger, aburaage, mackerel on top, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes on low heat.
    • Steam: Turn off the heat and leave it for 10 minutes with the lid on.
    • Stir: Open the lid, add the chopped scallion, and stir gently.

    Video

    Notes

    • Equipment: Staub cocotte pot 18cm, Shamoji (rice paddle), Rice cup.
    • Storage: Wrap one serving in cling wrap and keep them in the freezer. It will last up to one month.
    • Portion: This recipe will make 4 servings for adults and 6 servings for children. 
    • Japanese rice cup is 180ml.
    • After steaming for 10 minutes, don't forget to stir the rice. If you don't stir, the rice will get hard.
    • If you want to use a rice cooker, rinse rice, mix seasoning, place ingredients on top and press the cook button.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 62.6g | Protein: 17.8g | Fat: 5.5g | Cholesterol: 37.5mg | Sodium: 619.6mg | Sugar: 1.3g
    Course: Rice
    Cuisine: Japanese
    Keyword: Japanese canned mackerel rice, takikomi gohan
    Did You Make this recipe?Please Leave a star rating!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kirstin

      January 11, 2021 at 1:50 am

      5 stars
      Delicious! Thank you for this recipe!!

      Reply
      • Chef JA

        January 11, 2021 at 12:14 pm

        Thank you so much, Kirstin! I'm glad you like it!

        Reply
        • Kate

          June 22, 2022 at 6:22 pm

          5 stars
          Thank you for this recipe! I was trying to find a new recipe for canned mackerel and came across this one. I had all ingredients already (except aburaage), so I decided to give it a go. It was super tasty, and so easy to make. I'll definitely make it again!

          Reply
          • JURI

            June 22, 2022 at 8:11 pm

            You are very welcome, Kate! I'm so glad you found this recipe:)

            Reply

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    Hi, I'm JURI!

    I'm mama to two energetic children and passionate about making healthy meals for the family. I love sharing simple Japanese home cooking recipes, mostly plant-based recipes (vegan and vegetarian). More about me...

    Jiri@Chef JA Cooks

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