Salmon sashimi 鮭の刺身

This was the last serving of sashimi fish (tuna, salmon and uni) we got from Catalina. I served all that was left. We have enjoyed the contents of this shipment for lunches and evening repasts for the past 3 days.

Besides Sashimi, I also served cucumber cups with moromi-miso もろみ味噌 and soy sauce marinated salmon roe いくらの醤油漬け.

I served two kinds of salmon sashimi. The rolled up one is kelp-cured and the flat one is straight salmon sashimi. 

Because the tuna had a bit of unpleasant sinew and only a small piece was left, I made "tuna nuta" マグロのぬた. I cut the tuna into small cubes and served it with wakame seaweed 若芽 and thinly sliced rings of red onion and dressed it in nuta or sumiso 酢味噌 sauce

Although we enjoyed the sashimi fish we got this time from Catalina, the tuna was a bit disappointing because of the unpleasant sinew in the meat. The Northwestern uni was just OK; with its gamey flavor and soft texture it was nothing comparable to California Gold Uni we used to get. The highlight was the salmon. 

Kelp-cured salmon molded sushi 鮭の昆布締め押し寿司

The day we received sashimi-grade salmon, I made instant gravlax for lunch. While I was preparing the gravlax, I also prepared "kelp cured salmon" 鮭の昆布締め. Usually, white meat fish is used for this preparation but I wanted to experiment. After almost 3 days curing, I made molded sushi or "Oshizushi" 押し寿司 out of it. I served it with French style green beans dressed with sesame dressing インゲンの胡麻和え and simmered burdock root ごぼうのしぐれ煮. I also served my potato salad topped with salmon roe soaked in sake and soy sauce イクラの醤油漬け.  I served miso soup with tofu, and onion on the side.

Actually one mold made 7 pieces. Since it was an uneven number,  but wife and I split one before plating. I garnished it with fresh dill. You cannot see it well but I made two layers of sushi rice; one seasoned with dried "aonori" seaweed 青のり and the other with red perilla salt or  "Yokari" ゆかり(see #6 in the composite picture below).

Kelp cured salmon

Ingredients:

Sashimi-grade salmon, thinly sliced (#1).

Dried Konbu kelp, briefly hydrated until pliable,  moisture blotted (three 4 inch pieces of kelp).

Directions:

I placed the slices of salmon on the kelp (#2) and covered them with another piece of kelp. I added one more layer of salmon slices and topped with more kelp.

I wrapped the kelp and salmon in aluminum foil and placed the package in the refrigerator.

I cured it for 3 days.

Kelp cured salmon molded sushi

Ingredients:

Kelp cured salmon slices

Sushi rice

Dried "aonori" powder

Yukari (powder of dried red perilla leaves mixed with salt)

Directions:

I soaked the wooden mold in water for 10-15 minutes. I placed one layer of the kelp-cured salmon slices on the bottom of the mold (#3). 

I divided the sushi rice into two portions; I mixed one with dried "aonori" seaweed and the other with Yukari powder making green and red colored rice.

I first placed the aonori rice in the mold over the salmon piece and pressed using the wooden lid of the mold. I then layered the Yukari rice on the top (#4) and pressed using the wooden lid.

I cut the molded portion into 7 pieces (#5).

As you can see the rice layers are green and red (#6)

Since I had potato salad which I made a few days ago and "ikura" salmon roe which I marinated in a mixture of sake and soy sauce, I made the dish below (I put the potato salad in a round mold and topped it with the salmon roe)

With the combination of side vegetables, potato salad and miso soup, we were quite full. Compared to kelp-cured white fish, the salmon has too strong a flavor and is too oily to have a lot of kelp umani flavor transferred to the fish. But still we could taste the subtle difference between straight raw salmon and this preparation of salmon.  The combination of aonori and yukari rice was a great success and the saltiness of yukari rice and nori flavor really added to this dish.

Philly and Tekka rolls フィラデルフィア巻き、鉄火巻き

We received tuna, salmon and uni from Catalina on Saturday morning. For Sunday lunch, I made one of the American-invented rolls called Philadelphia roll (or Philly roll for short). I also made the more traditional tuna "tekka" roll. I made Philly roll as a medium sized roll or "chumaki" 中巻き (left in the picture below)  and tuna roll as a "hosomaki" 細巻き (right).

Philly roll is so named because it is made with Philadelphia cream cheese.* It also included salmon and cucumber. The salmon and cream cheese combination is, of course, the traditional match used for Salmon Lox and cream cheese on a bagel; a classic (New York) Jewish breakfast. Philly roll can be "Uramaki" 裏巻き, (rice outside and nori inside) or "Omotemaki" 表巻き (Nori outside and rice inside). I decided to make it "Chumaki and omotemaki".

*Cream cheese may have the origin in Europe but is usually considered an American cheese. Philadelphia brand became the most popular version of this cheese which is now a part of Kraft Foods.

I served it with miso soup made of wakame seaweed, tofu and scallion.

Ingredients (for one medium roll):

Sushi rice, about one cup (#1, picture is the amount of rice for one medium Philly roll and one small tuna roll),

Sheet of nori (#2)

Cream cheese, cut into sticks (#4)

Salmon, sushi grade, cut into sticks

Cucumber (American mini cucumber), cut into quarters lengthwise with center soft part with seeds removed.

Wasabi

Directions:

To make sushi rice, I mixed seasoned rice vinegar (with sugar and salt or from the bottle) and let it sit for 10-15 minutes loosely covered with a tea towel (to lower the temperature of rice and let the rice absorb the vinegar, #1).

I placed a full sheet of nori with shiny side down on the sushi mat (#2).

I spread the rice in thin layers  making sure to leave about half an inch of uncovered edge of nori on the far side (moisten your hands with water with a splash of rice vinegar in it, #3).

I smeared the wasabi in a horizontal line on the nori using a finger. The line was approximately where the contents of the roll would be placed.

I put the salmon, cream cheese and cucumber on the side close to me (#4).

I rolled the mat with the nori/rice on it to make sure the edges of the nori sheet overlaped. I then squeezed the mat with the roll in it to make a firm roll (#5).

I also made a small roll with tuna in the center using a half sheet of nori (#6).

This does not look like a lot of sushi but we were quite full after eating this. My wife likes miso soup for lunch. This was a good starter after we received the sashimi items. Our expectations for a dinner of the other sashimi items we had received grew after enjoying this lunch.

Ahi tuna from Catalina カタリナオフショアからのアヒマグロ刺身

We tried "Fresh Wild sushi-grade Ahi tuna" from Catalina. According to them "Ahi" tuna could be Bigeye (Mebachi メバチマグロ) or Yellowfin (Kihada キハダマグロ).  Quoting from the Website "Ahi sushi is one of the most popular items among sushi fans. In the Hawaiian language, “Ahi” (ah-hee) refers to two species of tuna: bigeye and yellowfin." The one we got appears to have been "Bigeye" which is good since we like bigeye much better than yellowfin as sashimi. We also got fresh salmon and one tray of Pacific Northwest "Uni" or sea urchin roe. Obtaining decent uni from Catalina (or anywhere else) is more and more difficult and this was the first time we tried Pacific Northwest uni.

The tuna was about one pound. I first removed the skin. The white line separating the meat (sinew or fascia) is visible in the picture.

I made the piece into "Saku" blocks. You can see the sinew separating the meat especially on the right two larger blocks.

The first dish I made was  "tuna and avocado cubes" dressed in a mixture of dark sesame oil, soy sauce, sake and garlic ( I posted this before).

Since I did not have chives, I used chopped scallion instead for garnish.

Since the tuna was cut into small cubes, this tasted good without much problems with the sinew.  But when I served it with the salmon and uni as sashimi, the sinew became very unpleasant. Usually, more noticeable sinew or "Suji  すじ is present in Ootro or a very fatty potion tuna but this red meat or "akami " 赤身 had lots of "suji".

The salmon* was very nice and was the best among the three sashimi items we bought. The uni was certainly acceptable but the consistency is a bit too soft or liquid. It also had a gamey taste akin to but even greater than Maine uni. It is far cry from the nice firm but creamy California Gold uni we used to get.

* Digression alert: Salmon sashimi or sushi did not exist while I was in Japan. The reason Japanese did not eat raw salmon was because of the parasite called Anisakis which produced acute GI problems if ingested. It is killed after the salmon has been frozen (-4F for at least 24 hours) but marinating with vinegar does not get rid of it. About 1995, Norwegian purveyors convinced Japanese customers that their salmon was safe to eat raw since anisakis are not present in their farm raised salmon. Pacific Northwestern salmon has anisakis (I am not going into the life cycles of anisakis but where seals and other sea mammals are present, anisakis infestation is a problem.) The one we got was from New Zealand. As per Catalina website "Mt. Cook Alpine salmon is pure king salmon. It is naturally free of parasites, GMO, antibiotics, chemicals, mercury and other heavy metals due to being sustainably farmed in the pure glacial waters of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. " The salmon as sashimi is not our usual choice but, among the three we got, I prefer the salmon (meaning the tuna and uni weren't that good).

Instant Gravlax 即席グラブラックス

This was the first  time we got sashimi-grade salmon from Catalina.  Since it arrived on a Saturday morning, I decided to make instant gravlax (instead of regular gravlax which takes at least 2 days to make) for lunch. I served it with my cucumber-onion salad garnished with dill and horseradish Greek yogurt sauce. I cured thinly sliced pieces of the salmon rather than the whole fillet to speed up the curing.

Since the curing was short, the flavor it added to the salmon was subtle. I splashed on our favorite Spanish olive oil.

This is based on the recipe: "Super Quick Gravlax" by Jamie Oliver. The original recipe used a filet of salmon and cured it for 4 hours. I used thin slices and cured it for one hour. We had this with lightly toasted pumpernickel bread.

Ingredients:
Sashimi grade salmon (#1, This was fresh New Zealand salmon) thinly cut on the bias from the belly portion of the salmon (#2).
Sugar (1 heaping tbs) with molasses (or brown sugar) and Kosher salt (1 heaping tbs) (#3).
Vodka (50ml)
Zest of one lemon and orange (I did not have orange so used frozen Yuzu skin)
Fresh dill, finely chopped (2 tbs)

Directions:
I mixed all the curing ingredients in a sealable plastic container (#4). I mixed but did not dissolve the salt and sugar. I coated each slice of the salmon with the cure (#5) and covered it with plastic wrap (#6) and let it stand in the refrigerator for one hour.
After one hour, I took the salmon out and removed the excess salt/sugar by patting with a paper towel (#7).
I sprinkled on more fresh chopped dill (#8).

The gravlax was very nice with lemony and citrusy flavors and a hint of sweet molassy taste. It is not as flavorful as a regular gravlax but it was great in its own right. The horseradish Greek yogurt sauce (mixture of homemade Greek yogurt, prepared horseradish, olive oil and salt) was a bit too assertive for this delicate dish. I made several small, open face sandwiches with the gravlax and cucumber onion salad on the pumpernickel bread.

Smoked trout spread, Greek yogurt and cheeses マスの燻製のスプレッド、グリークヨーグルト、チーズ

These are appetizers we had one day which included Greek yogurt my wife made using a special yogurt from a farm in Pennsylvania near where she grew up (left upper brown container) and smoked trout spread (lower right tan container). We also served two interesting cheeses; Blue castello (Denmark) (lower left) and Bucheron Sevre Belle (France) (upper right).

The picture below is a close up of the Greek Yogurt made from a special "high-octane" yogurt which was mixed with our favorite Spanish olive oil and seasoned with salt.

This picture shows the smoked trout dip. We used to make this smoked trout cream cheese spread often when we regularly bought artisanal apple wood smoked trout from a nearby gourmet grocery store. We haven't made it recently, however, because the smoked trout is no longer available.

The picture below shows the Blue castello (Denmark) cheese which was a nice, mild but not too mild blue cheese. It was a bit more assertive than our favorite "Cambozola". It is a bit more crumbly but has a nice blue cheese taste. Cambozola is more creamy and has "Camembert" characteristics.

Bucheron Sevre Belle (France) is aged but not too aged and even the rind was nice to eat. It is a nice cross between fresh and very aged (and fuzzy) goat cheese.

Smoked trout spread

Ingredients:

1. Hot smoked trout. We used to buy smoked trout from the grocery store but this one was made from fresh trout hot smoked in the Webber. I used soaked hickory chips and indirect heat for about 20 minutes (#1). My wife carefully deboned (#2) and flaked the meat (#3), of a whole trout.

2. One package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, (#4).

3. Fresh dill, chopped, 1/4 cup (#5)

4. Lemon juice of one lemon

5. Horseradish to taste (we also added wasabi). 

Just put everything in the food processor and process it until creamy and homogenized (#6). Taste and adjust any seasonings you like .

Greek yogurt spread with olive oil

Ingredients:

Greek yogurt*

Olive oil (we use our favorite Spanish olive oil)

Salt

* The Greek yogurt was made using "Seven Stars Farm" yogurt from Pennsylvania which my wife found one day while cruising down the dairy isle at the local Whole Food grocery store. The name "Seven Stars Farm" and the picture of the star constellation on the package  jumped out at her from all the other packages in the cold case. She stopped dead in her tracks and exclaimed "I know where that is!!" This farm happened to be across the road from where my wife went to high school.  At that time, however, they did not make yogurt, it was just a dairy farm selling to milk wholesalers according to my wife.. We didn't have any choice but to get one--or rather, to be more exact, to get several. Although the the percentage of fat of this yogurt appears to be slightly above the usual 4% (we estimated 4.5% from their nutritional facts), it looks and tastes like it has much more fat content than that. It even has a thin layer or yogurt from cream on the top which gives it some yellow color. While we really like Danon 4% whole milk yogurt and regularly use it to make Greek yogurt, Seven Stars Farm yogurt definitely has a much "higher octane rev"; it is really something special 

Making Greek yogurt, my wife has really got this down to a precise and easy process.

First, we needed a deep conical strainer like the one you see below (#1 and #2). (if the strainer has a rounded rather than conical bottom the whey does not drain out as well and the resulting Greek yogurt will not be as concentrated.)

Second, you need a better quality cheese cloth called cheese muslin. The cheese cloth from the grocery store tends to be very fragile and coarse and lets most of the curd pass on through as a tithe to feed the "sink God" that lives in the drain.  She spreads the cheesecloth in the strainer and adds the entire container of yogurt and folds the edges of the cloth over it (#2).

Since a rather large bowl would be required to accommodate the deep conical strainer she saves space in the fridge by using the yogurt container itself (#1) to catch the whey. That container is then fitted into a small metal bowl to catch any drippings that may fall from the cloth (#2), then, the whole thing is placed in the refrigerator.

Overnight, Greek yogurt or yogurt cheese is made (#3). You will be surprised with the amount of whey accumulated (#4).

I would like to say these snacks are a bit too rich for us but, really, who would I be kidding? They went perfectly well with red wine. Although we have made Greek yogurt spread before from Danon whole milk yogurt, this Greek yogurt is in an entirely different class. You could actually see the layer of butter yogurt on the surface after it was strained. Adding the spicy Spanish olive oil and salt really makes it. The smoked trout spread was no slouch either. The horseradish and smokiness both worked well and really complemented the wine. The two cheeses were also quite good. We filled ourselves with these wonderful spreads and cheeses and the appetizers became dinner.

Cold simmered daikon with miso chicken sauce 冷製大根のチキン肉味噌のせ

This is another "using-up" leftover barbecued chicken dish. I found that leftover cooked chicken, especially dark meat, can be versatile when cut into small pieces and used in various different dishes. Here, I came up with a miso chicken meat sauce with yuzu citrus and served it on cold simmered daikon with other vegetables.

I could have served this warm (both daikon and sauce) but the weather was still hot so I served everything cold.

I added additional Yuzu skin (chopped and previously frozen came in a pouch), which added additional bursts of fresh yuzu flavor.

The campari tomato was served with the skin removed (by briefly dunking in boiling water, then into ice water to peel). I soaked the skinned tomatoes in dashi broth seasoned with light colored soy sauce. The broccoli was just blanched and cooled.

Daikon preparation:

I cut 1 inch thick round of daikon and peeled.

I placed the daikon in cold water to cover completely and added a pinch of uncooked rice.

I simmered it for 30 minutes.

I made a Japanese kelp broth (water and piece of kelp), seasoned with salt, mirin and light soy sauce and simmered the precooked daikon for another 30-40 minutes or until tender.

I let it cool in the broth and then placed in the refrigerator overnight.

Miso chicken meat sauce:

Ingredients:

Barbecued dark chicken meat (2 legs worth), deboned and finely chopped.

Ginger, finely chopped

Miso, 3 tbs or more

Sugar, 1tbs

Mirin, 2 tbs

Peanut oil with splash of dark sesame oil, 1tsp

Yuzu skin, 1/2 tsp (chopped, previously frozen)

In a small saucepan, I added the oil and sauteed ginger and added the finely chopped chicken and kept sauteing for several minutes then added miso, sugar, sake and mirin. I kept mixing on low flame until the consistency became thick (about the same consistency of the miso). I added a splash of sesame oil at the end and mixed well. I cut the fire and mixed in the Yuzu skin. I let it cool to the room temperature and refrigerated.

I served this dish cold. I placed the daikon in a bowl and added the chicken-miso sauce on the top and garnished with yuzu skin. The skinned campari tomato was kept in the same broth as the daikon overnight. The broccoli was simply blanched in salted water and refrigerated.

This is the good way to use the dark meat from barbecued chicken which can sometimes be a bit chewy. The smokey flavor goes well with the sweet, salty and nutty miso flavor. The fresh taste of Yuzu is also nice. We like this cold vegetable appetizer.