Cured trout with pickled cucumber and daikon

Citrus-cured trout is a Japanese-inspired showstopper that needs no cooking at all: chalk stream trout cured in miso, sake and citrus zest, served with crisp pickled cucumber and daikon, a sharp yuzu and soy dressing and glistening salmon roe. An elegant dinner party starter that tastes like a restaurant plate.

Jump To Recipe Original recipe by Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen 14 November 2026
Enhanced with 3 key techniques for success, a timed 4-stage process, and suggested wine pairings.

---

This citrus-cured trout scores a B: oily fish brings quality protein and omega-3 fats with barely any saturated fat, the pickled cucumber and daikon add freshness and fibre, and the only real watch-outs are the sugar in the pickling liquor and the salt from the soy and cure. Light, bright and balanced.

---

---

---

How the timings work

• No oven at all: one small saucepan for 2-3 minutes is the only cooking – this is a prep-and-chill recipe, which makes it perfect for entertaining.
• Up to 5 hours ahead (hands-off): mix the cure, bury the trout on its sheet of kombu and refrigerate – the cure does all the work.
• While the fish cures (30 minutes, mostly waiting): salt, squeeze and pickle the cucumber and daikon; the pickles then sit happily in the fridge until serving.
• The last 10 minutes: whisk the yuzu and soy dressing, rinse the cure off the trout and slice it thinly.
• Everything lands cold on the table together – there is no hot timing to juggle at all.

---

Method

Start the cure (10 minutes, then hands-off)

1. Mix the cure: In a mixing bowl, stir together 100g/3½oz fine sea salt, 100g/3½oz caster sugar, 1 tbsp white miso, 30ml/1fl oz sake, the zest of 1 lime and 1 orange and 3 tsp crushed coriander seeds. It should look like damp, fragrant sand.
2. Bury the trout: Lay 400g/14oz chalk stream trout on a sheet of kombu on a small tray, pack the cure all over it in a thick even layer, then cover and refrigerate for 5 hours. (The salt-sugar mix draws out moisture and firms the flesh – it won’t turn fully raw fish into something salty, just something silky.)

Pickle the vegetables (30 minutes, mostly waiting)

3. Salt and drain: Sprinkle a good pinch of salt over ¼ sliced cucumber and 4cm/1½in shredded daikon in a bowl and leave for 30 minutes. Then squeeze out as much water as you possibly can – wet vegetables dilute the pickle and the dressing, so don’t skip the squeeze.
4. Make the pickle: Put 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 3 tbsp water and 3 tbsp caster sugar in a small saucepan and heat for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the warm liquid over the squeezed vegetables, stir, and leave to cool, then chill.

Whisk the dressing (2 minutes)

5. Mix the dressing: Whisk 30ml/1fl oz yuzu juice, 30ml/1fl oz light soy sauce, 50ml/2fl oz mild olive oil, 1 tsp mirin and a few drops of sesame oil in a bowl. Taste – you’re after sharp, savoury and just a whisper of sweetness.

Slice and serve (10 minutes)

6. Rinse and dry: Just before serving, rinse the cure off the trout under cold water and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Discard the kombu. (A quick rinse stops the saltiness climbing further.)
7. Slice thinly: With a very sharp knife, slice the trout as thinly as you can against the grain – chilled fish slices cleanly, and wiping the blade between cuts keeps every slice glassy.
8. Plate up: Arrange the trout slices on two chilled plates, spoon over the yuzu and soy dressing, tuck in the pickled cucumber and daikon and finish with 2 tsp salmon roe. Serve straight away, still cold.

---

Techniques for Success

1. Time the cure precisely and rinse it off

The cure transforms the trout, but timing matters. Under-cure and the flesh stays soft and flat; cure for hours longer than the recipe needs and the salt pushes through, leaving the fish overly salty and dense. The rinse matters just as much – cure left on keeps working and unbalances the whole plate.

Do it right: pack the cure in a thick, even layer over the kombu; refrigerate for exactly 5 hours; then rinse under cold water and pat dry just before slicing.

Success looks like firm, glossy, slightly translucent slices that taste seasoned to the edge, not briny. Feel: springy, not mushy.

2. Squeeze the vegetables properly dry

Cucumber and daikon are mostly water. Skip the squeeze and their liquid dilutes the pickling liquor and then the dressing, leaving a watery puddle on the plate and pickles that taste of very little.

Do it right: salt for the full 30 minutes; then take handfuls and squeeze hard until no more liquid runs; only then pour the warm pickle over.

Success looks like vegetables that stay crisp and take on a clean sweet-sour pickle rather than leaking water. Taste: bright, sharp, properly seasoned.

3. Slice the trout thinly, cold, against the grain

Thick, ragged slices eat salty and heavy, and the whole elegance of this cured trout recipe depends on glassy, delicate pieces. Warm fish tears; cold fish slices.

Do it right: keep the trout in the fridge until the last moment; use your sharpest knife in long strokes against the grain; wipe the blade between slices; and lay the slices out in a single shingled layer.

Success looks like translucent, even slices with clean edges that glisten under the dressing. Taste: delicate, citrus-lifted, melting.

Technique	Failure if done wrong	Success looks like
Cure for 5 hours, then rinse and dry	Soft, bland fish or overly salty, dense flesh	Firm, glossy slices seasoned to the edge, not briny
Salt, wait and squeeze the veg dry	Watery pickles and a diluted dressing	Crisp, clean sweet-sour pickles with no puddle
Slice thinly against the grain, fish cold	Thick, ragged, salty-tasting slices	Translucent, glassy slices with clean edges

---

Tips and swaps

• Get ahead: The cure needs 5 hours, so start in the morning for an evening starter; the pickles keep for 2 days in the fridge and the dressing holds for a day – on the night you only slice and plate.
• Swaps: Salmon stands in for trout; dry sherry replaces sake; half lime, half orange juice replaces yuzu; and shredded mooli or turnip works if you can’t find daikon.
• Safety note: This is a raw-style cured fish dish, so use the freshest, best-quality fish you can and eat it within 48 hours of curing; it isn’t suitable for anyone pregnant, very young or immunocompromised.
• Leftovers: Cured trout keeps, covered in the fridge, for up to 2 days – eat it cold and straight from the fridge; the pickles and dressing last a day longer.
• Scaling up: The cure scales easily for a bigger piece of fish – keep the salt and sugar equal by weight and hold the cure time at 5 hours for pieces up to about 600g.

---

Wine Pairing

Delicate citrus-cured fish with umami soy, sharp pickle and a whisper of sesame calls for a wine that is crisp, aromatic and bone dry – anything oaky or heavy would flatten the yuzu and drown the roe. Light, high-acid whites are the natural home here, and a dry rosé or a glass of good sake works a treat too. The three picks below are our suggestions.

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine – Majestic, around £9
Lean, citrusy and saline, it mirrors the cured fish without adding weight.

Grüner Veltliner – Marks & Spencer, around £11
White pepper and lime notes love the daikon, soy and sesame in the dressing.

* Prices checked November 2026 and may vary. The alternatives are our suggestions.

 

Recipes from this episode