Sautéed Kale and Small Fish

Sautéed daikon radish leaves with small fish seasoned with soy sauce, is a pretty common dish in Japan. This is really delicious served with rice. We often buy daikon radish with their leaves attached. We don’t want to waste the nutrition so we use the leaves to make tasty and healthy dish. Outside of Japan, it is very difficult to get daikon leaves so I use kale instead when making this dish. Kale’s season is summer and as you already know it has tons of nutrition. It blends perfectly with the flavors of this dish and it is just as good as daikon leaves…maybe even better. We get a good dose of natural calcium with kale and small fishes. I often make this dish and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days and use it as a side dish, seasoning for rice, or a healthy addition to any meal. As strange as it sounds I even like to eat this on the toast.

Sautéed Kale and Small Fish

·      250g of kale (1 bunch)

·      20g of Jako or Shirasu fish (whitebait fish)

·      1 tablespoon of white sesame seeds

·      2 to 3 tablespoons of sesame oil

·      2 tablespoons of soy sauce

·      2 tablespoons of Japanese sake

·      1 tablespoon of mirin (Japanese sweet wine)

·      1 tablespoon of sesame seeds

1.     Rinse the kale well and cut into small pieces.

2.     Heat sesame oil in a frying pan and fry kale or daikon leaves over medium to high heat. Add more sesame oil if needed.

3.     When the color of the leaves starts to change, add jako or shrasu small fish.

4.     Add soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sesame seeds, then continue to stir-fry until the excess moisture is gone.

*If you are not planning to eat them with rice, you can adjust the seasoning amount. But try them with rice and you will understand how delicious it is. You can use any type of kale, even swiss or rainbow chard. The flavor is just a little earthier.