At-Home Chef
Japanese style, American easy
By Angie Theado |
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With such simple ingredients, the complexity in the finest Asian cuisine seems to come from Zen-level technique and composition, a culinary snatching of the pebble.
But delicious Asian-inspired dishes can readily be made at home. The ingredients are easily procured at any Asian market around town. They're generally cheaper than the big box stores, too.
This is a simple Asian fusion recipe, relying heavily upon the natural taste of the freshest ingredients I could find. I kept the technique minimal, so focus on the precision of your cuts and the balance of the simple vinaigrette. Use a sharp knife, and try to find your own Zen in the process.
This mostly raw entree is comprised of seared yellow-fin tuna and white swordfish, accompanied by white beech mushrooms, julienned snow peas, and a miso and ginger ume vinaigrette. Ume is a plum, sometimes called 'Japanese apricot.' Gastrically distressing in raw form, it is generally pickled, dried, or otherwise processed. Ume vinegar is a tart, salty liquid left over when the plums are brined. We used a light miso (fermented soy bean paste), with a savory, sweet taste, not unlike chicken broth when thinned in soup.
TIP: Ask the fish monger if you can smell the fish before purchasing it. It should smell clean (like an ocean), not fishy.
Photo: Christopher Atwood
The fish was purchased at the North Market. Popular sashimi heroines, maguro (tuna) and kajiki (swordfish) are both firm in texture with a similarly clean, sweet flesh. Buna shimeji are a strand of fungus cultivated on beech trees and marketed as beech mushrooms. Tender, with a sponge-like texture, these prized fungi are used raw in this recipe. They may be cooked lightly; substitute raw enoki mushrooms if you desire. Seasonal snow peas always remind me of spring: green, crisp and succulent, they should be cut thin for easy eating and clean aesthetic. For an optional heat, finely chop a small Thai chili and add it to the dressing. This recipe serves 3 to 4 and is a nutritious, light, and refreshing dish that would be perfect after a long bike ride.
Pan seared tuna & swordfish with snow peas & mushrooms
Ingredients
6 oz steak of yellow-fin tuna, of the highest grade possible, because we're serving it raw. (approximately $20 per pound, and the same for the swordfish; this is about $15 for both 6 oz steaks.)
6 oz steak of swordfish
1/2 lb snow peas rinsed, strung, blanched (optional), and julienned ($2)
4 oz beech mushrooms, remove the stems, clean with a dry cloth, and separate ($3.30)
1 tbsp white sesame seeds, toasted
Salt and pepper, to taste
A few dashes of a canola and olive oil blend, or a good cooking oilFor the vinaigrette
1 tbsp light miso ($5 for whole container)
2 tbsp ume plum vinegar ($3.40)
1/2 nub of ginger, peel the skin and grate with a fine cheese grater or a micro-plane ($.25)
2 dashes soy sauce, or to taste
1 scallion rinsed, trimmed, and minced ($.89)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp brown sugar
1 small Thai chili minced, optional ($.25)
1/4 cup sesame oil ($3)
1/4 cup grapeseed, vegetable or sunflower oil, any neutral oil will do ($3)
(This meal will cost approximately $35.)
TIP: Be sure to use a sharp knife. Much of the enjoyment of Asian cuisine lies in the clean lines of presentation
Photo: Christopher Atwood
Preparation
Season steaks with salt and pepper and sear in a preheated saute pan. You really need to preheat your pan to 375 degrees to achieve the caramelized "crust" on the flesh. When the pan is heated (about 2 minutes at medium heat), add the oil, making sure to coat the bottom of the pan.
Carefully add the tuna steak, cooking about 2 minutes on each side. Place the fish on the cutting board to rest for about 5 minutes. After it is done resting, slice into thin strips with a sharp knife. Repeat for the swordfish.
Blanch the peas in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes, just until the peas turn bright green, and rinse under cold water until the peas have cooled. This, too, is optional: serving them raw is just as delicious.
Add all vinaigrette ingredients together in a squeeze bottle and shake vigorously immediately before use.
To toast the sesame seeds, heat a small, dry shallow pan and place seeds in the heated pan, swirling the seeds around. When you start to smell the nuttiness, remove them immediately from the heat and the pan.
TIP: When plating the food, treat the ingredients as colors on a painter's palate. Go for art, here: use a cool plate, arrange the fish in visual harmony with the pea & mushrooms ... it will taste even better!
Photo: Christopher Atwood
Meditate on a Zen riddle, or koan, such as, "Which Dharma Bum ate the Tuna Bodhi?" Arrange the fish on a plate and toss the mushrooms, snow peas, and dressing together, reserving a little dressing for the tuna and swordfish, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. This dish is best enjoyed with some chilled sake.
Originally Published: May 1, 2009
