Tag Archive for 'yuzu'

Shabu Shabu Salad

Published
by
marc
on June 4, 2008
in Fusion, Japanese, Summer and Vegetable
. 8 Comments

When in need of a quick simple meal I often turn to Japanese food for inspiration. While some preparation and presentations can be extremely time-consuming, at it’s core, Japanese food is about simplicity.

Shabu Shabu is typically considered a winter dish because it involves cooking paper thin slices of meat and vegetables in dashi at your table. The name is derived from the sound chopsticks make as you swish your meat around in the boiling stock to cook it. After a brief dip in the water, the meat is typically dipped in either a sesame sauce or ponzu (citrus and soy sauce).

This summer salad is a lighter take on Shabu Shabu requiring minimal cooking (thus minimal heat) while providing a well balanced meal that will sate your hunger and keep it at bay for a few hours longer than a bunch of lettuce would.

Dressed in a yuzu soy sauce dressing, the crispy batons of daikon radish add some body to the salad while the flash cooked pork gives it both flavour and protein. The best part is that it takes almost no-time to prepare and won’t turn your kitchen into a sweltering sauna in the middle of summer.

for pork
a pot of dashi (since you’ll toss this out I usually cheat and use the powdered kind)
very thin slices of pork (think deli meat thickness)

for dressing
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs yuzu juice (or lemon juice)
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tsp sugar

for salad
2″ length of daikon radish peeled
couple handfuls of mixed baby greens or lettuce (I used arugola and mizuna)
cherry tomatoes

If you have a Japanese grocery nearby you should be able to get nicely marbled meat pre-cut into thin slices, but if you don’t you could have your butcher do it for you. If you have a sharp knife and better knife skills than I, you could do this yourself in theory, but you’ll want to partially freeze the meat I should warn you that it’s very hard to get thin uniform slices.

Cut the daikon lengthwise into thin batons, using a mandoline speeds this up. Soak them in a large bowl of ice cold water for about 10-15 minutes to take the “bite” off and bring out the sweetness.

Bring the dashi to a boil and using chopsticks or tongs, swish one or two slices of meat around at a time for a few seconds. Because it’s pork you need to cook it all the way through, but it should just barely be cooked. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool too room temperature.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together. Transfer the pork to a bowl and pour about half the dressing over the meat and stir to combine. Drain the daikon and toss with some of the dressing. Toss the greens with some dressing and then assemble your salad.

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Hamachi with yuzu and olive oil

Published
by
marc
on May 8, 2008
in Appetizer, Asian, Japanese and Seafood
. 9 Comments

This is actually one of my favourite ways to have sashimi. It’s so simple and light, somewhere between carpaccio and ceviche. The 2 types of yuzu add a phenomenal flavor with a floral tartness form the juice and a bit of green spice from the yuzu kosho. The salt crystals, provide little bursts of brine on your tongue and the olive oil brings it all together without being greasy.

What’s yuzu kosho you ask? It’s one of my favourite condiments, right up there with Thai sweet chili sauce. It’s made with yuzu rind, green chiles and salt making a rough paste (a bit like wasabi) that’s spicy, salty and intensely citrusy. It’s a little too potent to use like ketchup, but it can be mixed into mayo, dressings, olive oil, soups, sautes, bbq sauces, the list goes on… It is a bit hard to find, but I scoured the Internet and found it here for about 12 bucks. Sounds a bit pricey for such a small bottle, but trust me, it goes a long way.

Well, I’m off to Houston for the rest of the week, so I won’t be posting till I get back on Monday, but I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

sashimi grade hamachi (yellowtail)
yuzu kosho
good quality olive oil
yuzu juice (you could substitute lemon or lime juice)
sea salt ( I used Portuguese fleur de sel)

Put a plate in the freezer for a few minutes to get it very cold.

Using a very sharp knife, and cold hands, slice the hamachi into thin slices.

Place the hamachi on the chilled plate then place a small dab of yuzu kosho on each slice. Drizzle with olive oil, a couple of splashes of yuzu juice and then sprinkle some sea salt on top.

Serve immediately.

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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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