The Missus requested one thing for Herself on my last trip home….no it wasn't (almost tho') jewelry, shoes, a handbag, or gasp, heaven forbid mac nuts. She wanted some smoked fish. So a small cooler and some gel packs later, She got a pound of smoked marlin and some smoked taco….which She proceeded to wack in a couple of meals.
Then of course came my mission…..She didn't want to wait for our next trip back; it was time for me to make this at home….like pronto. So over the course of the last couple of weeks, I came up with something similar. The easiest fish to find was swordfish, though I prefer marlin. Tasting the smoked fish, I figured it to be a soy sauce-sugar/mirin/honey-H20-sesame oil-granulated garlic-ginger kind of thing. This was going to be a bit tricky since I was hot smoking using my Camerons Stovetop Smoker which had served me well over the years. So after the first try, I had pretty much got the marinade fairly close to a starting point for future fun. You can use this for perhaps 2 – 2 1/2 pounds of fish or more. My smoker can hold about a pound-and-a-half.
So here's the marinade sans the red food coloring……
Marinade:
3/4 cup Aloha Shoyu
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon ground Korean chili powder
3-4 tablespoons ginger juice
3-4 tablespoons good sesame oil
3-4 tablespoons Mulyeot – Korean Malt Syrup
– Combine ingredients, mix well
I was surprised at how much sesame oil and ginger juice this recipe can handle. I'm sure we can bump up both and be perfectly happy.
I sliced the swordfish into strips and marinated overnight in a gallon ziploc bag - about 12 hours or so, before smoking. I used mesquite, because the flavor is somewhat similar to kiawe. 
Smoking is interesting. For now I'm at about 35-40 minutes, but may try to cut that down a bit. The longer you smoke the drier the fish will become. Which leads me to the last thing. About 5 minutes before the smoking is complete, I mix 3 tablespoon sesame oil and 3 tablespoons honey and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds.
When the smoking is done, I immediately brush the sesame oil-honey mixture onto the fish. This adds flavor and seals in whatever moisture is left.
I let cool, then refrigerate.
I'd been wondering how the Missus has been eating this…it's usually pupus. I found that She uses it on salads, with even more sesame oil on top and whatever dressing She's feeling like….or even making Her own pseudo temaki.
Hey, who am I to argue. As they say…."Happy wife equals happy life!"
Happy Tuesday to you!