I would like to dedicate this particular recipe to Allison!
My better (worse?) half came up with this simple recipe the same day she prepared the bonito sushi (see previous post).
Once again she used traditional sushi rice added with fine pieces of pickled fresh ginger.
On a large piece of cooking cellophane paper he first placed thin strips of avocado and slices of smoked salmon, and finally the rice, keeping in mind to place as to form a regular shape cylinder.
She then wrapped the cellophane paper around the whole as shown on above picture.
She cut the sushi roll through the cellophane paper with a sharp knife she wiped between each cut.
She finally served the cuts topped “Tobikko” (flying fish roe). Lghtly dipped in shoyu, great with more sake!
My better (worse?) half came up with this idea after she got hold of quality “katsuo tataki” (slightly grilled bonito).
She prepared the sushi rice balls according to tradition with the addition of fine pieces of pickled fresh ginger (as this is the season rigt now).
She then placed a slice of bonito seasoned with ponzu with more thin sliced pickled ginger, “tobikko” (flying fish roe) and finley chopped thin leeks>
Mackerel or saba is fish eaten over the whole Northern Hemisphere and does come under many varieties and names.
In Japan it is mainly called “Saba”, “Masaba” or “Sekisaba”.
Herre it is mainly caught off Oita, Saga Prefecture, although quite a few are caught off our coasts. They feed on plankton mainly.
(mackerel catch in Yaizu Harbour)
They are prepared and cooked in many guises. In France, my birthplace they are steamed and then pickled in white wine and spices. In Northern Europe they also eaten half raw as smorgasbrod and pickled fish.
It can be appreciated as sashimi, but it must be absolutely fresh and is best served with grated fresh ginger and lemon:
As far as sushi is concerned, “masaba” variety is best:
It is especially popular as “oshizushi” (pressed sushi).
My prefernce goes for konbu zume saba. the mackerel is kept inside a variety of wet seaweed for an hour or so before put whole on top of a long “bar” of rice, then cut to size:
(picture taken at Tomii estaurant, Shizuoka City)
“Sanma” or Mackerel Pike has come on our plates with the advent of Autumn.
Known under other names such “Saira” or “Banjyo”, it is a fish with red meat rich with proteins.
In season, the flesh is fatty and sweet and ought to be sampled as sashimi served with grated fresh ginger and thinly cut leeks:
(Pic taken at Tonami, Shizuoka City)
It is mainly caught off the north eastern shores of Japan as the fish swim down from Hokkaido.
But the more it is caught, the less fat it will contain.
The annual catch exceeds 20,000 tonnes, although breeding is increasingly successful.
If you eat it at a good place such as Tonami in Shizuoka, you will be served its bones and head deep-fried.
Of course, as a sushi it is a morsel to savour!
Why may Shizuoka people be justified in assuming they eat some of the best in Japan?
SHIZUOKA SUSHI & SASHIMI: The other Jewels of Japan 