Namero

Namero

The Simplest Fish Dish

Jennifer Matsushita (Hiroshima)

I have always avoided fish at the supermarket. Growing up, my family never served fish unless it was frozen. My fish experience was zero when I got here. I wasn’t confident enough in my culinary skills to wing it with fish, I couldn’t shake the thought that I’d mess it up, and honestly, the dishes never come out looking like the picture.

To combat my nerves, I found the one dish that isn’t about looking pretty, technical skills, or doing a billion steps. I started my Japanese food journey with namero, a minced fish dish.

The origins of namero are unclear. Aomori, Chiba, and Hokkaido have all laid claim. What we do know is that it is a fisherman’s dish. On a constantly rocking boat with little space to prepare anything, namero was perfect. That simplicity is what made the dish appealing to me as well. 

Ingredients
  1. Fish of choice (mackerel is most common, any sushi-grade fish is good), 2 fillets
  2. Shiso, 2 leaves
  3. Green Onion, ⅓ stalk
  4. Ginger, minced, to taste
  5. Garlic, minced, to taste
  6. Miso Paste, ½ tbsp

Note: This recipe has measurements for convenience, but please feel free to change, add, or leave out toppings to your taste.

  1. Prepare your toppings and create your mise en place. Chiffonade the shiso leaves, mince ginger and garlic, and slice green onions.
  2. Finely chop your fish. This may take a while. You’ll know it’s ready when it’s paste-like and starts to stick to your cutting board.
  3. Add the shiso, green onion, ginger, garlic, and miso, folding it into the fish. Start small and add in a little at a time. It’s easier to add flavor than to take it away!
  4. Serve over rice or use one of the variations below.
Variations
  1. In Aomori, they serve namaro with cucumber slices.
  2. Add natto and raw egg yolk for otsumami, or drinking snack.
  3. Use as a filling for a sushi roll.
  4. Pan fry the fish mixture in a patty to make sanga-yaki, a specialty in Chiba.
  5. Mix with rice and green tea to make son-cha.
  6. Add rice vinegar to make su-namero.

The beauty of this dish is in how simple it is. You can’t go wrong with the basics and it begs to be experimented with. Go forth and make some namero!

Jennifer Matsushita is a former ALT from Hiroshima. After finding the TV show Kodoku no Gurume, or Solitary Gourmet, she discovered the joys of simple, underappreciated Japanese cooking.

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