Editor’s note: In the Taste of Life series, cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.

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Cooking expert Katsuhiko Ueda, an “activist to popularize fish-eating,” recalls the “astonishing and memorable” experience he had in 2003.

He was to be posted to Sakaiminato in Tottori Prefecture by the Fisheries Agency and made a courtesy call after which he went to a local “izakaya,” a Japanese style pub.

He ordered salt-grilled “nodoguro,” or blackthroat seaperch, which is a high-end fish caught mainly on the Sea of Japan side of the Sanin and Hokuriku regions.

Back then, the fish was not as well-known as today.

When he popped a piece with thin and crispy skin into his mouth, the umami spread, and it tasted so good that he almost felt dizzy.

“Although it was a whitefish, it was not only fatty but also refreshing. Its juiciness is the distinctive quality of blackthroat seaperch. There is no other fish like it,” says Ueda.

Determined to eat blackthroat seaperch every month, he grilled it at home once a month during the five and a half years he lived in Sakaiminato.

When he filleted it and cooked it in the fish grill at home for the first time, the fillet crumbled, and chunks of meat dropped from the wire grid. The meat is soft all the more because it is juicy.

Ueda began to search for ways to grill the fish.

To adjust the height, he constructed a tower with iron plates punctured with holes and created a special charcoal-grilling stove. Instead of grilling the salted blackthroat seaperch on the wire grid, he skewered the fish and set it above the stove by inserting the ends of the skewers to the holes on each side.

He adjusted the heat by changing the distance between the charcoal fire and fish using different levels of holes on the plates.

When the fish was grilled over a strong but distant fire covered with aluminum foil shaped like a dome, the fat seeped out and the skin turned out crisp and toasty.

The drops of fat on the charcoal also smoked the fish and added a unique savor. He perfected the ideal grilling method after about six months.

Although blackthroat seaperch is now synonymous with expensive fish, “You can buy a large one if you refrain from going out drinking two or three times,” says Ueda.

“Not scrimping at crucial moments is a key to encountering truly delicious food. I want people to relish the essence of the taste of fish,” said Ueda.

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Katsuhiko Ueda: Born in 1964 in Shimane Prefecture, Katsuhiko Ueda is an activist to popularize fish-eating. While studying at the faculty of fisheries at Nagasaki University, he worked as a fisherman and began working at the Fisheries Agency upon graduation. He has been communicating the appeal of fish since leaving the agency in 2015.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

Main Ingredients

1 blackthroat seaperch, unrefined salt (arajio), (if available) wasabi, white radish sprouts (kaiwaredaikon), sweet and sour pickle of ginger, among others

1. Remove scales and gut fish. Rinse and pat dry with kitchen paper.

2. Make an incision on both sides. Using wet hands, coat the surface, inside the abdominal cavity and mouth with salt. Let sit for a while. Coat the fins thickly with salt. Sprinkle salt on surface of fish by flicking fingers.

3. Skewer fish and lay skewers across strong fire in stove such as a barbecue grill.

4. Cover from above with dome-shaped aluminum foil.

5. First grill the side facing up when served, then reverse side, then upper side again. The ratio of how far fish should be cooked is 1 to 7 to 2. Take time when grilling the reverse side.

6. Remove foil and skewer and serve with wasabi or white radish sprouts if preferred.

When eating a whole blackthroat seaperch at home, it is recommended that you fillet it into two, sides with and without the bones. The fillet without the bones and the head can be used in a simmered dish, while the half with the bones can be cooked in the fish grill. Cook the side of the bones thoroughly at first, then turn and grill the other side. Since the meat falls apart easily, turn only once.

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Jinsei Reshipi (Life Recipe) column