What it is
Honey-braised saury (蜜汁秋刀魚) is Pacific saury (秋刀魚), a slim, oily autumn fish, cooked in a sweet honey sauce. Braising softens the bones so the fish can be eaten whole, bones and all. It belongs to Taiwanese home cooking and is meant to be eaten with rice.
Where it came from
The name 秋刀魚, literally "autumn knife fish", is written the same way in Japanese, where the fish is called sanma. The slim body is said to look like a sword blade. Taiwan's own saury fishery is fairly young. Boats began working the North Pacific for it around 1988, and about ninety vessels now go out each year between May and November. They fish on the high seas, using lights to draw the shoals, then grade, pack and quick-freeze the catch on board. Taiwan lands tens of thousands of tonnes a year, eats much of it at home and exports the rest to Korea, Japan and South Africa. Since 2019 the North Pacific Fisheries Commission, of which Taiwan is a founding member, has set catch limits. It remains a cheap fish in Taiwanese shops.
How it is made
At Erge Shih Tang (貳哥食堂) in Kaohsiung, the saury is grilled in honey sauce, then braised until the bones are tender. Home cooks have another route to soft bones. They cut off the head and tail, gut the fish, scrub away the dark blood line and cut it into sections. The pieces are seared briefly in a dry pan, simmered with spring onion, ginger, vinegar and water, then left to soak overnight in the fridge.
How to eat it
Serve it with steamed rice, rice tossed with pork lard or braised pork rice (肉燥飯). Erge Shih Tang also offers a steamed taro cake with shiitake and dried shrimp as the starch. The bones can be eaten with the flesh. Autumn is the season for saury, and grilled saury is a fixture at Mid-Autumn Festival barbecues.
Around Taiwan
- Kaohsiung
- Erge Shih Tang in Gushan District, a 2026 Bib Gourmand, makes honey saury its signature. The kitchen cooks Taiwanese home-style food with light seasoning and small portions.
