November 2010 – Page 2

Halibut with Deconstructed Cocktail Sauce

I’m no chef. Certainly not. But I wanted to raise the standards for my sushi, make it something that you look at and really crave.

Oh, and Son complains I make too many rolls.

So I was looking through my kitchen, trying to figure out what the heck we had that could possibly be used to make a really awesome dish with the halibut I got.

Then I saw these tomatoes in the fridge, which had been used as a side for a really amazing sake-steamed black cod dish I made the day before. Hm. Tomatoes… seafood… cocktail sauce! Why don’t I make a sort of cocktail sauce, except without the tomatoes mixed in?

(Yes, my mind works in weird ways sometimes.)

So I looked up a recipe for cocktail sauce, then made up my own version, except without the tomatoes blended into it. Just because it looks cooler that way. And… well, this is what I came up with.

It actually turned out very well. Son has fallen in love with the sauce… it goes amazingly well with seafood.

Recipe
Nutrition Info

Ingredients

small fillet of sashimi-grade halibut
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp wasabi
dash salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
8 cherry tomatoes, roasted
a few leaves of basil
crushed pistachios

Cooking Directions

Slice the halibut into thin slices.
Mix the mayonnaise, rice vinegar, wasabi, salt, brown sugar, and garlic powder.
Roast the cherry tomatoes.
Roll the basil leaves tightly, and slice thinly in a chiffonade.
Place a pool of the mayonnaise sauce on a plate. Top with two slices of halibut, and a few roasted tomatoes. Garnish with the basil and crushed pistachios.

Coming Soon!

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. These values are only estimates based on the individual ingredients, and not meant to replace the advice of a medical professional.

Happy Fourth Birthday, Sushi Day!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you… happy birthday dear Sushi Day, happy birthday to you!

Don’t worry, I won’t actually subject you to my singing. Promise. That would be cruel and unusual punishment, and I’m fairly certain you haven’t done anything to deserve such a fate.

Anyways.

Today’s Sushi Day’s fourth birthday! Can you believe it’s been four years already? I’d tell you to go back and revisit some of the very first posts I ever wrote… but some of those are rather embarrassing. And silly. So we’ll just stay right here today, okay? 😉

Though it’s been four years… well, it’s no secret that I’ve been slacking for the last year or two. Major slacking. As in… I’ve posted one roll in the last year.

Yeah, that’s bad. You know, considering this is a sushi blog and all.

So… in a bout of craziness, I’ve committed to NaBloPoMo this month. Meaning one post every day, for a month. One recipe every day.

Here’s to trying to get back into the groove of posting regularly.

This ‘roll’ is like a gunkan maki, except without the nori. I used halibut – a sustainable option that tastes very much like yellowtail. If you can find the Pacific Halibut wherever you usually buy sashimi, I recommend it. Or, if you can’t find it or can’t ensure that it’s Pacific Halibut (and not another variety that’s unsustainable) then you can also order it from I Love Blue Sea. 😀

Recipe
Nutrition Info

Ingredients

sumeshi
sashimi-grade halibut, cut into 1″ squares
1 avocado
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon juice
big pinch of salt
togarashi
black and white sesame seeds

Cooking Directions

Cook sumeshi.
Remove avocado from skin, discard skin and pit. Mash avocado until smooth. Mix in mayonnaise, lemon juice, and salt.
Using a 1″-diameter round cookie cutter, pack in 1″ of rice (about 1/8 cup).
Press the halibut on top of the rice, then remove the cylinder from the cookie cutter.
Top with avocado mixture. Sprinkle with togarashi and sesame seeds.

Coming Soon!

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. These values are only estimates based on the individual ingredients, and not meant to replace the advice of a medical professional.