Shishamo Nigiri (Capelin Nigiri Sushi)

Shishamo, or capelin, is a small hikarimono fish found around the arctic ocean. It is a fish not often used in sushi, although it can be found every once in a while. The reason I am discussing it in this article is twofold. One, it is delicious and should be more popular; And two, the eggs of this fish are very important to Japanese cuisine and sushi making in general.

While you will rarely see this fish served at a sushiya, you will often see it served at izakaya or other bars as a snack food for patrons. This fish is delicious when grilled, although in this shishamo nigiri guide I make it sujime style.

What Is Special About Shishamo

Shishamo is most known for its eggs, called masago. Along with ikura (chum salmon eggs) and tobiko (flying fish roe), masago rounds out the top three most popular fish roe in Japan. In fact, masago is more desirable than tobiko in most cases.

Because shishamo is a silver skin fish, it has quite a lot of fat. This makes it great when grilled, although for sushi purposes I am going to show how to preserve it in the traditional pickling style for nigiri.

Preparing Shishamo (Capelin) For Nigiri

Unlike many large fish, it is hard to inspect each individual capelin when you are at the fishmonger. Usually you buy by the kilogram and they fill up a bag. In such cases you may get a few that are not of great quality. Two things I look for to see if the fish is worth cutting are the eyes and spine. You want eyes to be clear instead of cloudy and you wand the spine to be firm instead of floppy.

Preparing capelin for sushi is similar to other small hikarimono (blue-backed fish) like iwashi (sardines). Follow the photo grid above.

1. Chop off the head and tail.
2. Slice off the belly and clean out the innards*
3. Pry out the spine and remove in one whole piece
4. Lay the meat flat and cut into two fillets down the middle.

* If you are lucky enough to get fish filled with roe then see the photo below.

When removing the innards of the fish, you might come across a few filled with roe. This is delicious and should be saved. Remove the eggs from the fish and place them in a bowl. Add some lightly salted water (about 3% saturation) and stir everything. After about a half hour you can strain the eggs through a fukin (kitchen towel) to be used.

How To Do Sujime Shishamo

One you have all of your fillets you can begin with the sujime method. This is a type of pickling preservation. First place all of the fillets on a plate or colander and generously sprinkle with salt on both sides. Let sit for 10 minutes then wash off completely with cold water.

Next place your fillets skin side up in a small container and pour over a mix of vinegar-water. This is called warisu and every chef has their own preferred ratio. For capelin I like to do 60% rice vinegar and 40% ice water. Other fish can have a higher vinegar percentage (for example with sardines I do 70% vinegar and with horse mackerel I do 80% vinegar).

Place the container in the fridge to age for 3 hours up to 3 days. The longer you let it pickle the stronger the vinegar flavor will be.

Shishamo Nigiri Making Steps

1. Place the shishamo skin side up on a cutting board and make a few shallow slices (kazari bocho) to showcase the beauty of the skin. (This is more of a preparatory step but should be done after sujime).
2. Place the fillet of shishamo skin side down between the palm and fingers of your left hand (reverse if you are left handed)
3. Form the shari (rice) with your right hand.
4. Use your hand and fingers to form the nigiri, creating a nice seal between the rice and fish, and expanding the beautiful cut work.
5. Brush with nikiri or shoyu and top with the roe.

Sushi Terms Used In This Article