Japanese Seared Tataki Bonito (Katsuo Tataki) Recipe

Serves/Makes: 2

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces fresh bonito* (tuna or horse mackerel) fillet, skin left on
• 1/3 cup spring onions, thinly sliced into shreds
• Oil, to grease pan
• 1 inch young ginger, finely shredded
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup Ponzu Dipping Sauce (see recipe below)
• 4 ounces daikon radish (about 2 inches), sliced into long thin strips
• Chrysanthemum flowers, to garnish
• 1 heaped tablespoon finely grated daikon mixed with 1/4 teaspoon seven-spice chili powder (shichim) or ground red pepper, to serve

How to cook:

• Heat a lightly greased frying pan. Sear the fish until the outside of the flesh just turns white. Using a pair of chopsticks, turn and sear the other side, then immediately chill in the refrigerator or freeze to stop the fish from cooking further.
• Once the fish has cooled, wipe away any moisture and marinate the whole fillet in half of the spring onions, ginger, garlic, lemon and half of the Ponzu Dipping Sauce. Pat the fish with the side of a knife to help the sauce penetrate. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 10 minutes. Cut the marinated fish into small slices 1/2-inch thick.
• Arrange the fish and lemon slices on a bed of daikon strips. Sprinkle the remaining sliced spring onions, ginger, garlic and the edible flowers over the fish. Serve chilled or at room temperature with the remaining Ponzu Dipping Sauce in a small bowl and seasoned grated daikon on the side.

Ponzu Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 strip dried kelp (konbu), (about 2 inches long), wiped with a damp cloth
• 1/3 cup yuzu orange, or lemon or lime juice
• 1/3 cup Japanese soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tamari or dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Basic Dashi** Stock or 1/4 teaspoon dashi** stock granules dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water

Ponzu Dipping Sauce Preparation:

• Heat the dried kelp over a gas flame or under a broiler (grill) until crisp and fragrant, then put in a bowl or jar with all the other ingredients.
• Cover and refrigerate for 3 days, then strain. Can be stored for up to a year.

Basic Dashi Stock (Bonita Flake) Ingredients:

• 4 inches square piece konbu***, wiped clean
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 ounces bonito flakes

Basic Dashi Stock (Bonita Flake) Preparation:

• Cut konbu square into 4 narrow strips. Place in a saucepan with 4 cups water and cook over medium heat. Heat until just about to boil, then quickly remove pan from the heat, remove and discard konbu.
• Add the cold water and bonito flakes to the konbu broth. Bring to a boil then remove immediately from heat, and set aside to cool.
• When all the bonito flakes have sunk to the bottom, pour the liquid over a strain and discard the flakes.

Note:
Ponzu is a sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine.

Comments:
*In Japanese cuisine outside Japan, bonito usually refers to the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), which is known as katsuo in Japan. This fish is smoked and dried to make katsuobushi, an important ingredient in making dashi (Japanese fish stock), used extensively in Japanese cuisine.
**Dashi is a class of soup and cooking stocks considered fundamental to Japanese cooking.
***Konbu, a kind of seaweed. It is associated with the word yorokobu, meaning “joy”.

This recipe for Japanese Seared Tataki Bonito (Katsuo Tataki) serves/makes: 2

Main Ingredient: Various Fish
Preparation Method: Pan Fried/Sauteed
Cuisine: Japanese