Sashimi-Style Raw Fish with Sushi Rice
This is one of my favorite ways to eat fish: lightly dressed and raw. I make the sushi rice according to my rice cooker’s instructions and suggest that you do the same, but I have included my personalized rice-rinsing ritual here. You can take it or leave it, but I recommend you rinse your rice to remove excess starch and have some fun while doing so.
Ingredients
- Serves 2 as a main 4 as a starter
- ½ cup white soy sauce
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces sushi-grade fluke amberjack, or sea bass, skin removed and cut into ½-inch strips
- 2 small radishes
- 2 large sheets nori
- 1 cup sushi rice
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
- White or black sesame seeds for sprinkling
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Whisk together the white soy sauce and olive oil in a large bowl.
- Add the fish, cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and set in your refrigerator to chill.
- Trim off the ends of the radishes.
- Use a sharp knife or mandoline to very thinly slice them.
- Stack the slices on top of each other and thinly slice the stacks lengthwise so each piece resembles a matchstick.
- Soak the radishes in ice water for 30 minutes to crisp, then drain and pat dry.
- Meanwhile, turn the burner of your stove on high.
- Slowly wave each sheet of nori over the burner until it becomes fragrant and crispy but doesn’t brown.
- Slice the toasted nori into thin strips, about 2 inches long by ¼ inch wide.
- Set aside.
- To rinse the rice, cover it with cold water and rub the grains between your two palms, as if you’re starting a fire with two sticks.
- Dump out the water (there’s no need to use a strainer—gravity will force the rice to the bottom of the bowl and save you from washing an extra dish).
- Cover the rice with cold water again.
- Make your hand into a claw, lower it into the water, and whisk in a circular motion.
- Dump out the water.
- Cover the rice with cold water a third time and churn the rice by cupping your hands underneath it and turning your hands over.
- Dump out the water, which by now should have turned from a milky white to clear.
- Pour the rice into a rice cooker and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Let the rice cool to just slightly warm or room temperature.
- To serve, spread the rice on your serving dish with the fish layered on top.
- Add the radishes, nori, chives, and a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds.
- Finish with a squeeze of lime.