Skip to content

Fish, East Asian

Simmered ginger sardines with rice

Simmered ginger sardines with rice is a fish dish for 4 people, ready in 35 minutes, rated easy, for about €3.40 per person. The key is letting the sardines simmer gently under a sheet of parchment paper in a sweet and salty sauce until the bones turn tender.

Sardines simmered slowly in soy sauce and ginger until meltingly tender, this is the dish that smells like a Japanese grandmother's kitchen.

Simmered ginger sardines with rice
Total time
35 min
Difficulty
Easy
Cost per person
€3.40
Calories per person
540 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Spring, Summer, Fall

Fresh sardines cook slowly in a mix of soy sauce, white wine, rice vinegar, honey, and ginger until they turn tender from head to tail. The vinegar softens the small bones as they cook, the fresh ginger added at the end keeps a little bite, and the sauce reduces uncovered to coat the rice. It is a dish that fills the kitchen with a comforting smell as it simmers.

This is a good recipe for a weeknight when you have a bit of time, or for a relaxed Sunday with family. Whole fish takes a little care when serving, so it is not the easiest choice for very young kids, but the sweet and salty flavors often win over older children. It works well from spring through fall, when fresh sardines are easy to find.

The ingredients

4 people

Fish counter

  • Fresh gutted sardines 12

Fruits and vegetables

  • Fresh ginger 50 g
  • Green beans 300 g

Pantry

  • Soy sauceoften in the pantry 5 tbsp
  • Honeyoften in the pantry 2 tbsp
  • Sugaroften in the pantry 1 tbsp
  • Rice vinegaroften in the pantry 3 tbsp
  • Dry white wineoften in the pantry 10 cl
  • Riceoften in the pantry 300 g

Allergens Fish, Soy, Gluten

The step by step recipe

  1. Rinse the sardines, remove the heads, and pat them dry.

    Ask the fishmonger to scale and gut them for you.

  2. Slice the ginger into thin strips.

    Set half aside, raw, to add at the end for some bite.

  3. In a large skillet, heat 20 cl of water with the soy sauce, wine, vinegar, honey, sugar, and ginger. 3 min

    The sauce should taste boldly sweet and salty, it mellows as it reduces.

  4. Lay the sardines side by side, cover them with a sheet of parchment paper, and let simmer over low heat. 20 min

    The vinegar softens the bones, so you can eat almost all of it.

  5. Cook the rice in salted water, then drain it, and blanch the green beans. 11 min

    Plunge the green beans into cold water afterward so they keep their color.

  6. Remove the parchment paper, let the sauce reduce uncovered, and serve with the rice and green beans. 3 min

    Spoon the reduced sauce over the rice.

Our tips to get it right

  • Pick sardines that look firm and shiny, a sign of freshness, and ask the fishmonger to clean them to save time at home.
  • Never stir the sardines with a spoon while they cook, just shake the pan gently so the fish stays in one piece.
  • Taste the sauce before adding the sardines, it should seem almost too sweet and salty, since it balances out as it reduces.

The variations

  • Swap the sardines for mackerel or small whiting fillets, adjusting the cooking time to their thickness.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace the sardines with firm tofu cut into thick slices and simmered the same way.
  • To save time, buy sardines already headed and gutted, and cook the rice while the sauce simmers.

What to serve it with

  • Plain white rice
  • Hot green tea
  • Vinegar pickled cucumber

Storage

Keep the sardines and their sauce in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 2 days. This dish does not freeze well, as the whole fish would lose its tender texture. Reheat gently in a skillet or saucepan over very low heat so the fish does not dry out.

Questions about this dish

Can you use frozen sardines for this recipe?

Yes, as long as you thaw them fully and drain them before cooking. Pat them dry with paper towels, since overly wet sardines will make the sauce take longer to reduce.

How do you know when the sardines are cooked through?

The flesh should pull away easily from the center bone when you check with a knife tip. After 20 minutes of gentle simmering, the thin bones also turn tender thanks to the vinegar.

Can you make the sauce ahead of time?

Yes, you can prepare the sauce with the ginger a day ahead and keep it in the fridge. Warm it gently before adding the fresh sardines on the day you serve it.

Can you replace the white wine with something else?

You can use vegetable broth or water with an extra splash of rice vinegar instead. The flavor will be a touch less complex, but the fish stays just as tender.

How long does it take to make simmered ginger sardines with rice?

Count 35 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “easy”.

How many calories are in simmered ginger sardines with rice?

About 540 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does simmered ginger sardines with rice cost?

About €3.40 per serving, or €13.60 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains fish, soy, gluten. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

East Asian cuisines

See all

Rice recipes

See all