2/25 Soy Poached Mackerel and Pickled Celery Root

I'm working a little outside my comfort zone on this one. Yesterday I bought a mackerel fillet at the Japanese grocery store. I decided to poach the mackerel in a soy/marin (japanese cooking wine) broth and made a very thinned out mayonnaise sauce with sambal (chili paste) and yuzu (asian lemony citrus). The fact that it didn't really ever thicken up was my fault, but in the end worked quite well with the fish and wasn't too heavy. According to my unhappy roommates the result was that the entire house smelled really bad (to me it just smelled like soy... but whatever).

Along with the fish I made some "pickled" celery root. It's really just celery root cooked in just a bit of slightly sweet lemon broth. Not really a pickle, but it cut through the fattiness of the fish nicely.

I also started some "real" brined pickles which should be ready in a weeks time or so... never made those before either, so we'll see how they turn out.