Japanese Cooking and Sake Live vol.14

Products used in "Japanese Cooking and Sake Live vol.14"

Tai (Sea Bream) Shabushabu

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1          Sea Bream filleted and sliced thinly

1          King Oyster Mushroom, 0.5cm thick slices, cut lenthwise

200g   Shiitake Mushroom

½         Leek, 1cm thick slices, diagonally cut

2          Pak Choi, cut in quarter

300g   Clearspring Silken Tofu

15g      Kombu

150ml Clearspring Organic Yuzu Ponzu    

3 tbsp  Mooli, grated

¼ tsp   Shichimi Pepper

½         Spring onion, minced           

150g   Cooked Japanese rice

1          Egg

**If you cannot find the oriental mushrooms, use any mushrooms.

Method

1. Add 1-1.5L water in the medium sized saucepan or ‘donabe (Japanese clay pot) and add kombu to soak for several hours before cooking. Even better if you could soak for overnight for more umami extraction. Cast iron pot has a great heat conduct, clay pot takes longer to heat but keeps the food hot longer, but any saucepan is good to use. Water volume depends on the size of the vessel.
2. Cut fish and vegetables
   • Sea Bream: ask fishmonger to supply skinned/filleted. Slice the fish thinly, if possible, diagonally slice to increase the surface area. This will help cook the fish extremely quickly without over cooking.
   • King Oyster Mushroom: 0.5cm thick slices, cut lengthwise
   • Shiitake Mushroom: If large, cut in half or quarter
   • Leek: Slice diagonally to 1cm thick chunks
   • Pak Choi: Cut in quarter lengthwise, then cut in half widthwise
   • Tofu: Cut into about 4cm cubes
3. Prepare the dipping sauce
   • Grate mooli, mix with shichimi pepper, then put aside
   • Mince spring onions then put aside
   • In two separate small serving bowls, add 2 table spoon each yuzu ponzu. Add spicy mooli and spring onions to garnish to your liking. The idea is to keep topping up the sauce with fresh ponzu and the toppings as it gets diluted with fish and vegetables as the dinner progresses. Do it little by little as you go along.
4. Bring kombu water to a boil, then add half of the vegetables. Cover with a lid and cook over low to medium heat for 3 minutes.
5. Remove the lid but keep the heat. Everyone cooks their own fish, it’s a wonderful and fun DIY dinner. Take a slice of fish, allow it to ‘swim’ inside the simmering hot pot. The fish is cooked in a few seconds. Take it out and enjoy with the dipping sauce. In between the fish, eat the vegetables with the dipping sauce. Repeat the process.
6. When the vegetables become scarce in the hotpot while you still have some fish left, add the rest of the vegetables and cook for 3 minutes with the lid as before. Add the water as necessary.
7. Repeat the process (4)
8. When you finish most or all of the fish and vegetables, add the cooked rice. Put on the lid, cook for 5 minutes over low to medium heat.
9. Whisk an egg in a small bowl. Pour the egg to (7) and mix immediately. It should look like loose porridge. Take a generous scoop of porridge to your dipping sauce and eat. Add the fresh ponzu sauce as necessary. Alternatively, you can add the sauce to the porridge to enjoy.