Nikiri Sauce is a thin, sweet glaze that is brushed on fish just before serving in Japanese cooking.
It negates the need for a small dish of soy sauce to be provided to the diner, as the chef has already seasoned the fish for you.
It is used on delicate types of fish, where regular soy sauce might be too strong (e.g. sea bream, flounder, plaice, etc.) It is also good with tuna.
Occasionally, it is provided at the table as a dipping sauce with a few types of sashimi.
Cooking Tips
Soy sauce, dashi, mirin, sake, in a ratio of 10:2:1:1.
10 tablespoons (5 oz / 150ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons dashi
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon sake
Mix all in a saucepan, heat just until it’s about to start boiling (but don’t let it), then remove from the heat, and let cool.
A simpler version is 4 parts tamari to 1 part mirin, simmered until slightly reduced, then removed from heat and let cool.
History Notes
All older versions of Nikiri Sauce used to be simmered until reduced.
