This past weekend I made my monthly run across the Hudson to Mitsuwa for Japanese groceries. Their selection is quite impressive and I’m always finding new stuff to buy. Going on an empty stomach would be a mistake for the wallet, but thankfully they have a decent food court which happens to have one of my favourite bowls of ramen in the area. But I digress…
Recent beef find aside, I usually make the trek out to Edgewater for their large selection of fresh sashimi grade seafood. Since you want to eat sashimi as fresh as possible it’s usually best to eat it the day you buy it. To make my haul last a bit longer I buy a couple types of fish specifically for curing in salt. This makes it last a few days or longer (depending on the amount of salt you use).
One of the the best fish for curing is Tai. This fish is loaded with umami and once cured can be eaten drizzled in olive oil, on a salad, or over a bowl of rice with hot green tea poured on top (ochazuke) which gently cooks the fish and turns the tea into a savory broth. If I’m eating it straight I’ll usually use less salt, but if I’m going to use it for ochazuke I’ll load it up with plenty of salt as it seasons the broth.
Continue for full recipe
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So sea urchin might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I made this the other day and it makes for a simple appetizer.
Uni’s creamy, uniformly rich texture makes it a bit like the foie gras of the sea (minus the animal rights abuses). I like to give it two different treatments to add a bit of contrast. Half of it is steamed in mirin (sweet japanese cooking wine) while the other is cured between pieces of kelp with sea salt. The resulting sweet/briny, firm/soft, hot/cold juxtapositions add some much needed contrast to this tasty morsel.
I usually opt of the cheaper Uni for this preparation since size and color uniformity is less important (just make sure it’s fresh).
1 flat of Uni
2 pieces of rehydrated dashi kombu (kelp used to make stock)
Sea salt of good quality (like Fleur de Sel)
Fold a paper towel in half twice and lay a piece of konbu on top. Sprinkle an even layer of salt down on the kelp and lay each piece of uni on top in a single layer until you’ve gotten half way through the uni, or you’re out of space. Sprinkle another even layer of salt on top of the uni and cover with another piece of kelp and another folded paper towel. Repeat with more kelp and salt if you have more uni, otherwise put it in the fridge to cure overnight.
When you’re ready to serve, get your steamer ready to steam. Put half the uni in a ramekin, or other shallow heat-proof dish and add enough mirin to generously coat each piece. Put it into the steamer for about 5-10 minutes or until the alcohol has burned off and the uni is cooked.
When it’s done, take the cured uni out of the fridge and gently mix with the steamed uni. Serve a small amount to each person with a glass of cold sake.
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