Of all the fish that I buy and cook, the most versatile for me is mackerel steak. It has great texture, reasonable taste and it freezes well, qualities that give me a range of choices for when and how I will cook it.

A mackerel steak will go well in many Asian curries. I have for example used it in fish-head curry; no cheeks, but a lot more flesh than an actual fish-head. In Malay cuisine, it is good deep-fried then sautéed in a spicy sambal paste. And it goes well in Indian curries.

Thirty years ago when I was in Kuala Lumpur, there was an Indian restaurant in Brickfields that did a roaring trade in deep-fried fish at lunchtime. Essentially, it had a spice rub applied, then was deep fried and served piping hot. If you use mackerel steak for this, it makes sense to have it sliced thinner.

Mackerel steak takes well to western style preparations, though here of course I would want thicker slices. Any dish that calls for firm-fleshed fish will be pretty OK with mackerel. And for simple weeknight meals, a basic western preparation of mackerel steak is hard to beat for simplicity and goodness.

This is an example of a broiled mackerel steak that I do. Originally inspired by a Mark Bittman recipe, I have since added minced garlic and minced chilli to the mustard. In moderation, I might add, but enough to give a little extra dimension to the taste. Total time to broil was 17 minutes. Seven minutes on the first side, turn and dress with mustard mixture, then broil for another 7 minutes. Top with the chopped honey tomatoes and broil for another 3 minutes. The rack is placed 13 cm / 5 in. from the element, and I do not put it closer to finish as that is not necessary.

This is one main course that takes less time to cook than the potatoes. In this instance, as the main has plenty of flavour, I paired it with a simple Italian style potato salad. Boil the potatoes skin on, peel and slice, allow to cool, then sprinkle with minced garlic and parsley. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and you’re all set.

With a green salad on the side, it makes a good meal.

Want more on mackerel steaks? See Article and Recipe

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 9:00 pm and is filed under Cooking, Cooking Tips, Easy Meal, Food, Ingredients, Learning to Cook. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.