All posts filed under: Seafood

Potato Salad with Smoked Salmon

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I first tried the combination of smoked fish and potato salad at David Wilcox’s popup (which sadly ended early due to a small fire that broke out in the building’s flute). It is a natural pairing — the smokey and salty flavor of the fish accents the creamy potatoes. My potato salad pairs the land and the sea, with the sea represented by the fish and seaweed, in the form of aonori (powdered seaweed flakes), and the land represented by creamy potatoes, crunchy onions, chives, and shichimi togarashi (a Japanese blend of seven spices including red pepper). The fish should be the hot smoked type (wiki) which means it was smoked at a temperature hot enough to fully cook the fish and the fish can be eaten as-is with no further cooking. Unlike cold-smoked fish such as Nova-style, Scotch-style, or Nordic-style lox (wiki) which is cured with salt and smoked only long enough to add flavor but not to cook it (wiki), hot smoked fish has the texture of cooked fish because the heat of the smoking cooks the fish through. My source …

Shiso Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe) Spaghetti

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This summer, I ate at Basta Pasta in NYC, which is a restaurant that makes pasta the way that it is made by Italian restaurants in Japan. Although many of their dishes are classic Italian, there are a few surprising dishes that top Italian pasta noodles with a mixture of Japanese and Italian ingredients. In other words, it is Japanese-style spaghetti; in Japan this is called wafu pasta or wafu spaghetti since wafu (sometimes also spelled wafuu) means “Japanese-style”. As JustHungry.com explains, this style emerged in the 1970s when “essentially, things that are usually eaten with white rice were mixed into or put on top of spaghetti and other [Italian] pastas”. The resulting flavor combinations are a fun and unexpected mix, which strangely go well together.

Salmon, Salmon Eggs, and Scallop Chirashi

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Chirashi means “scattered sushi”. It is usually presented as sushi rice and other ingredients mixed together or as sushi rice topped with a decorative arrangement of ingredients. Displayed here is sliced raw salmon, raw scallops, salted salmon eggs, and shiso (full leaves and julienned). To make ikura: Gently rinse salmon eggs (0.15 lbs) in cold water (be careful to not break the eggs). Mix with 1 tsp sake and 1 tsp usukuchi soy sauce with the drained salmon eggs (normally the soy sauce and sake would be heated until simmering to reduce the alcohol and then let to cool before mixing with the eggs, but since this is such a small quantity of sauce this small this isn’t necessary). The salmon eggs can be eaten right away but they will be better if you let them marinate for half a day. If you are luckily enough to find a sack of salmon eggs instead of pre-separated salted salmon eggs, you can prepare them like this. To make this chirashi bowl, rinse sashimi-quality fish and sashimi-quality scallops briefly in cold water …

California Roll

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From about December to April, it is Dungeness crab season in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. I usually eat my first boiled crab of the year simply cracked at the table and plain except for quick dip in apple cider vinegar or brown rice vinegar. It’s hard to resist–when it is in season the seafood section of supermarkets in this region feature large displays of freshly cooked crab on ice, ready to eat. It makes an effortless meal. Later in the season, I like to make dishes that feature crab. One of my favorites is California rolls since it is comfort food for me; they were the first type of sushi that I tried, and I ate them often when I was a teenager before I would try raw fish. Source: “Classic California Roll”, “Master Recipe for Sushi Rice”, and “Sushi Vinegar Dressing” from “The Sushi Experience” by Hiroko Shimbo. I think these rolls are best when Sriracha mayonnaise is included in the roll. The sauce brings out the flavor of the crab, similar …

Trout Amandine

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I had a trip to Yosemite planned when the federal government shutdown cause the park to be closed. So I visited the area close to the park boundaries instead. I mountain biked to a small waterfall and also took a fly fishing lesson. I didn’t catch anything. But since we were practicing catch and release, even if I did I wouldn’t have been able to eat it. After spending four hours knee-deep in river water learning to cast and scrambling along slippery algae-coated rocks, I suddenly had a craving for trout, specifically trout amandine. It is a classic French dish of trout topped with almonds and is often served with green beans or asparagus. Amandine indicates a garnish of almonds; it derived from the French word for almonds (“amandes”), though it is sometimes misspelled as almondine in American restaurants or cookbooks since this is more recognizable as relating to almonds to English speakers (wiki). I choose the recipe for “Truite aux Haricots Verts et Amandes” (Trout with Haricots Verts and Almonds) from “Bouchon” by Thomas …

Lomi Lomi Salmon

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Even though salmon don’t swim close enough to Hawaii to be caught in its surrounding waters, early European explorers, missionaries, whalers, and the armed forces exposed Hawaiians to salt salmon (and many other types of salted, dried, or canned meats, such as Spam). It has become so integrated into Hawaiian cuisine that lomi lomi is a traditional luau (wiki) dish. The salt salmon needs to be made at least 1 day ahead, so start this recipe a day before you want to serve it. Food Safety: Use only very fresh high quality salmon, preferably sashimi/sushi quality, since the raw salmon is only lightly cured (see here for more information about what types of salmon can be eaten raw and also this wikipedia article on raw fish). I used sushi salmon (from Super Mira Market in San Francisco) to ensure that it was safe to eat raw because it has been commercially deep frozen to remove any parasites (home freezers are not cold enough), very fresh, and had a great texture. If you can’t find sushi salmon, then you could consider …

Lobster Sandwich

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This lobster sandwich is served on a toasted croissant and is flavored with diced cucumber, tarragon, lemon zest, poppy seeds, mayonnaise, and whole-grain mustard. The tarragon adds a bright herbal anise-like flavor which unexpectedly goes well with lobster. Poppy seeds and seafood are an unexpected combination that works so well that David Chang specifically mentioned this flavor pairing in his Momofuku cookbook. Lobster and butter are also another great combination — this sandwich gets its butteriness from the croissant. This isn’t a traditional Maine-style lobster roll–that’s what makes it unique. Source: Modified “Boiled Lobster” from “The Art of Simple Food” by Alice Waters. We used “Crab Sandwich” from “Tartine Bread” by Chad Robertson as our recipe for the lobster sandwiches, but we left out the chervil that the recipe suggested, since it isn’t available in our markets.

Shrimp Stock

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If you buy shrimp with their heads and aren’t going to cook them whole, then you should make shrimp stock. You can also make shrimp stock with just the tail shells, if you don’t have the heads, though the stock will be less rich. Source: My own recipe, based on generic recipe available from many sources.

How to Open an Oyster

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Preferably use an oyster knife, which is a stiff pointy knife with dull sides. The dull sides help to prevent you from cutting yourself if you slip. A table knife will not work–the oyster knife must be very stiff in order to give you leverage to pry open the shell. Many kitchen supply stores and supermarkets sell cheap oyster knives. It is also helpful to have a thick glove, preferably made of kevlar (for your left hand if you are right-handed or a glove for your right hand if you are left-handed) to help prevent injuries if your knife slips. Insert the tip of the oyster knife into the bottom v-shaped hinge of the oyster where the two shells meet. Wiggle the knife to wedge it deeper and to find the weak point of the hinge. Give the knife a few sturdy pushes into the shell. If you have found the weak point than the top shell will loosen. If not, then keep wiggling and pushing the knife until the top shell dislodges. The oyster …

Salmon Chirashi with Ponzu Daikon Radish Sprout Salad

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  Sushi for a weeknight: Sushi doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming. There are many types of sushi that are so quick, easy, and affordable that they can be made for a weeknight meal. One example is chirashi, which literally means “scattered sushi”; it is usually presented either as sushi rice topped with a decorative arrangement of ingredients or as sushi rice and other ingredients mixed together. This style of sushi is quick to make since there is no need to roll sushi or shape the rice for nigiri. If you set out nori with this dish, then handrolls can also be made at the table, which is something that William and I enjoy greatly; it is fun because everyone gets to make their own sushi. The handrolls look especially pretty with some daikon radish sprouts in them. My recipe for salmon chirashi has three components: sushi rice, salmon sashimi, and a salad of daikon radish sprouts dressed with ponzu sauce. Sushi rice is quick to make, especially if you have a rice cooker, since you just …