Tag Archive for 'shiso'

Chirashi Sushi

Published
by
marc
on June 29, 2008
in Japanese and Seafood
. 13 Comments

For those of you that have never had it, chirashi sushi i a bowl of vinegared sushi rice topped with a bunch of colorful stuff. At most sushi restaurants this means covering the rice with slices of various raw fish, but that’s not always how it’s made.

Growing up my mom used to make a vegetarian version with simmered shitake mushrooms, carrots, egg, sugar peas and benishoga (red ginger) for any potluck or party we’d go to. It makes for a great party dish because it’s something you eat at room temperature and the ticker-tape-confetti of toppings makes it look very festive.

My rendition is a bit more decadent, capturing the essence of the sea. The ingredients aren’t cheap, but it’s still cheaper than going to a local sushi restaurant and it isn’t nearly as hard to prepare as it looks. I made this in about an hour, but if you make some of the stuff ahead of time it can be assembled in even less time.

If you’re squeamish about uni (or any of the other ingredients) you could obviously sub them out, but steamed uni is not nearly as off-putting as the raw kind they have at sushi restaurants. Cooking it gives it more structure making it more cheese like in texture (though not flavour) while retaining its sweet creaminess.
Continue for full recipe

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Chilled cucumber with sesame miso broth over rice (Hiyashijiru)

Published
by
marc
on April 27, 2008
in Breakfast, Japanese, Salad, Summer, Vegan, Vegetable and Vegetarian
. 13 Comments

The summers of my youth were often spent on the southern island of Kyushu Japan visiting my maternal grandparents. They live in what used to be a small, rural fishing/farming village about 2 hours from the nearest small airport (which for an island about the size of South Carolina is a long way).

For those of you that haven’t been to Asia in the summer, it’s hot and humid. The kind of “hot and humid” where you step outside and are met by a curtain of sticky, sweat-inducing heat that makes you want to turn right around to go take a shower. The only tolerable times of the day are sunrise and sunset, but due to the mosquitoes that come out at dusk, you really only want to be out at dawn.

Dawn was one of my favourite times in Japan, not just because of the temperatures, but because this was the time my ojiichan (grandpa) would take me fishing off a stone outcropping, and the time that my o-obaachan (great-grandmother) would take me out into the fields to pick cucumbers, daikon, shiso, and other bounties of the summer.

As the day heated up, we’d go back to the shelter of home for breakfast. Here is a recipe for one of my favorite breakfasts from those summers in Japan. Hiyashi-jiru (lit. chilled broth) is a regional specialty of the Miyazaki region of eastern Kyushu. The chilled crunchy cucumbers with the cold miso sesame broth are poured over hot rice which makes for a delightful appetite enhancing breakfast that’s both nutritious and filling.

While traditionally this is made with a fish based dashi, this can easily be made vegetarian by using a kombu (kelp) and shiitake (mushroom) based dashi. If you can’t find fresh Japanese or Lebanese cucumbers where you live, you can substitute a small hothouse cucumber with seeds removed, or other thin-skinned variety of cucumber. The shichimi is entirely optional, but the shiso really does add something if you’re able to find it (try Japanese markets or local sushi restaurants).
Continue for full recipe

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Sunchoke and hamachi carpaccio

Published
by
marc
on April 10, 2008
in Appetizer, Japanese, Salad and Seafood
. 8 Comments

Inspiration can show up when you least expect it. This dish was actually inspired by a Coconut Pana Cotta of all things. What does a creamy Italian desert have in common with a savory sashimi appetizer you ask? Aside from looking incredibly tasty, pana cotta’s are typically creamy dishes that use a tart sauce to offset the fat. In this case, Helen used Yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit with mandarins to cut through the creaminess of the coconut milk and cream.

I suppose I am genetically programed to love Yuzu, yet I’m perpetually surprised at how a mere whiff of its citrusy floral aroma can put a huge smile on my face. I could go on espousing its virtues, but that’s an ode for another post.

This dish layers thin slices of crisp sunchoke with thin slices of hamachi(yellowtail) sashimi. It’s topped with a drizzle of olive oil and yuzu with a sprinkling of cherrywood smoked sea salt. The creamy smooth hamachi plays very nicely with the crisp sunchoke and tart Yuzu. If you can get your hands on smoked salt, it adds a wonderful meaty depth that infuses both character and body to the flavors in this dish.

While the ingredients on the list might seem intimidating to source, there’s not many of them. The key is to use fresh, high quality ingredients, then to nail the presentation. You could substitute Meyer Lemon or Lime for the Yuzu and tuna for the yellow tail if you had to. Just make sure the ingredients you’re using are of the best quality.

    

2-3 young sunchokes peeled
1/4 lbs sashimi grade hamachi
good quality olive oil
yuzu juice (fresh if possible, but bottled works as well)
smoked sea salt

shiso and tobiko for garnish(optional)

Using a mandoline slice the sunchokes into a bowl of ice water. This removes any extra starch and makes the sunchokes even more crisp. When they’re nice and cold, thoroughly dry each slice using paper towels.

Make sure your hands are cold and dry (put them in some ice water). Using a very sharp knife (use a sashimi knife if you have one), slice the hamachi using the weight of the knife in a single smooth stroke towards you (start cutting at the back of the knife and end at the tip).

Arrange them on a cold plate how you like and drizzle some yuzu, then some olive oil on top. Finish with a sprinkling of sea salt and serve immediately.

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Grilled sea bass donburi

Published
by
marc
on April 1, 2008
in Dinner, Japanese and Seafood
. 5 Comments

Grilled sea bass donburi

I had some bass left over from another dish I made, so I dropped it in some all-purpose Japanese marinade and turned it into this donburi.

There’s a layer of dashi tamago (japanese style scrambled eggs) between the rice and the bass that adds some sweet richness to the dish and the sansho (a.k.a. sichuan pepper) powder on top adds an herbal kick. This works best with an oily fish like sea bass or salmon, but you could use other fish as well if you’re looking for something lighter.

cooked rice

for grilled bass
1 batch of Japanese marinade
2 pieces of fish with high oil content (sea bass, yellow tail, salmon)

for dashi tamago
2 eggs
3 tsp concentrated dashi
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp Mirin
1 heaping tsp sugar

Marinate the fish in the Japanese marinade overnight.

Prepare some rice.

Grill the fish either over a barbeque or in a broiler until cooked and the marinade has caramelized to form a deep mahogany finish on the surface of the fish.

For the dashi tamago, whisk the ingredients together, heat a non-stick pan over medium heat until hot. Swirl a bit of oil around then add the egg. Turn down the heat to medium low and use a heat-proof silicon spatula to scrape up the cooked egg from the bottom. Let another layer cook then scrape it up too. Repeat until you have big fluffy curds of egg that are still a little wet (it will be fully cooked by the time you plate it).

Put some cooked rice down in a bowl, layer some egg on top and set the fish on top of the egg. Garnish with a sprinkle of powdered sansho and some green shiso.

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Shiso wrapped bass dumplings in dashi

Published
by
marc
on March 29, 2008
in Japanese, Seafood and Soups & Stews
. 3 Comments

Shiso wrapped bass dumplings in dashi

While dumplings can be a little labor intensive, they don’t have to be hard. Using whole pieces of marinated bass make this very simple to prepare and the results are definitely worth the effort. Since the fish is well marinated I go light on the salt in the broth and it makes for a light refreshing 1 bowl meal.

Shiso has a fresh flavor that compliments the bass nicely covering any fishiness (which it shouldn’t have if it’s fresh). You should be able to find it at any Japanese grocery, or if you don’t have one near by, try asking your local sushi restaurant as it’s commonly used as a garnish. If you still have no luck, you could try using something else such as mint, a little shredded ginger or a little lemon zest.

I served this with a bowl of quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), which is a healthy, gluten free alternative to rice. It’s somewhere between brown rice and cous cous and has a slightly poppy crunch similar to tobiko.

for dumplings
stripped bass or other white meat fish cut into 20 small pieces (1/4″ x 3/4″ x 1/2″)
Japanese marinade
10 green shiso leaves cut in half lengthwise
gyoza or wonton wrappers

for soup
3 cups dashi
1 Tbs mirin
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 shitake mushrooms
1 scallion sliced thin

Marinate the bass in the Japanese marinade for 15 minutes.

Combine the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, salt and mushrooms in a small saucepan and keep at a low simmer until ready to serve.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Wrapping the dumplingsShiso wrapped bass dumplings in dashiFill a small bowl with water. Wrap each piece of bass in a piece of shiso and then place it in the middle of a gyoza wrapper. Dip your fingers in the bowl of water and get the outer edge of half the wrapper wet. Fold the wrapper in half over the bass and seal the edges well while trying to make sure you don’t trap too much air. Repeat with the rest of the bass.

Place the dumplings in the boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes.

When the dumplings are done, add the scallions to the soup, plate the dumplings then pour the broth over the dumplings. Garnish with a little lemon zest.

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