Junk Food Japan by Scott Hallsworth

Author:Scott Hallsworth
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472919939
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2017-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Yellowtail Kamayaki

KOMBU- ROASTED CHILEAN SEA BASS

Roasting meat or fish on kombu is like flavour-cheating. Kombu is one of the top umami-rich ingredients. In short, umami-rich ingredients have large taste profiles, so, in this case, the kombu is simply adding tastiness. You may have heard about monosodium glutamate (MSG), basically a chemical seasoning famous in the Orient, which can instantly boost flavour with a very small pinch. I suppose this is the real flavour cheat. MSG was developed by a Japanese professor – the very same professor who discovered and named umami – and it was his quick and easy chemical version that became a massive hit all over Asia. Anyway, don’t go down the route of sprinkling that nasty stuff in your food – tastiness can be ‘boosted’ naturally with the likes of kombu, amongst plenty of other things.

Serves 2, as part of a multi-course menu

10cm piece kombu

40ml sake

150g slice Chilean sea bass (failing this, a firm oily fish or salmon belly will do)

2 small knobs of unsalted butter

spicy shiso ponzu, to serve

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

We cook this in a wood-fired oven at around 250°C but use an oven preheated to 240°C/220°C fan/Gas Mark 9 if you want.

Soak the kombu in the sake for 1 hour.

Drain the kombu and put it on a chopping board. Place the sea bass on the kombu, squash the butter on top and season with salt and pepper. Lift the assembly onto a roasting tray and cook for 10–12 minutes. This is the kind of fish that benefits from being well cooked – standard fish cooking rules don’t apply here – it’s done when you see the flesh beginning to flake nicely.

You can also cook it over charcoal on your barbecue. Set the fish onto the soaked kombu, as above, with the butter and seasoning, then place over moderately hot coals and put a stainless-steel bowl over the top. Depending on how hot your coals are, the fish should take about 15 minutes.

Serve the Chilean sea bass on the kombu with a generous dousing of spicy shiso ponzu (remind your diners that they shouldn’t eat the kombu – we have guests giving it a shot quite often, despite the warning).

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