Tag Archive for 'tai'

Cured Tai (Japanese snapper)

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.
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