Aburi and amaguri, oregano seafood pasta

Seafood pasta. I could eat some everyday. I know there are no pasta on this photo. I have not eaten them before shooting. They are under :

Ballerina pasta alle vongole, bianco e oregano.
That’s the name in my kitchen. Don’t trust my skills at Italian language, but trust me to adapt the recipe to Japanese context.

First, let’s prepare salmon. It’s salmon trout to be exact.

Aburi sushi is midway between raw sashimi and grilled fish, so you get the great texture and the nice taste.
For more details on this technique :

aburi DIY (click here)

hamaguri is a sort of local clam.

First let them refresh in salty water.

The hamaguri clams are opened in white wine with negi (green parts) and oregano. Then ballerina pasta are added and let 2 minutes with a covered lid, the time they swallow the flavors.

The plate is crowned by bok choi, that was blanched with the pasta. I place the pasta in the middle, the seafood and more oregano on top. Black pepper and a drizzle on olive oil on top.
Mmmmm…..

Black delights… (via GiO)

Black is beautiful. In Japanese cuisine, that’s really a precious color…

Ideal for the cooling weather :　炙り寿司 (aburizushi) aburi sushi. It’s fire leached sushi.
If you never had them, you must try. The transformation of taste of the fish is dramatic…

Hamo no aburi – flames on fish – la murène en flammes

Hamo (Pike Conger, Murene Japonaise) is a popular fish for Summer in Kansai, particularly in Kyoto. It’s a second rate fish for many, but in Japan, it’s considered a delicacy.

A modern way to prepare it is “aburi”. Aburi is bathed by flames. It’s between grilled and raw sashimi. See this for recipe :
Aburi-zushi (flamed)

A piece of hamo. It’s a long eel type fish, so the fishmonger opened it, took away the bones by making many parallele indentation :

That’s why it look as if it had rays.

When you cook the skin, it retracts and the fish slightly rolls on itself… OK, not a pro result. I’m working on it.

It is served simply with a little point of condiment. For instance….

Pasted umeboshi. Take one of those plums (dried and pickled), pit it and mash in a mortar. You can also buy some in tube like mustard and wasabi, which I also used, but really the whole plums are more polyvalent.

Really great… The grilled flavor and the sashimi sweetness, pinpointed by the fruity sourness of the plum.

Cosy sushi, many ways

Are not visitors disappointed ? A food blog from Osaka with so few sushi… It’s Japan, so we are supposed to eat some at every meal.
That’s not really the case, but we have some. I don’t try to replicate the restaurant style, but anyway what we are proposed here tends to differ from the horr… , I mean, the offer, in the West. There are many regional variations. I try to prepare the original home-made ones…

Definition : vinegared rice, with toppings.

If there is no rice or nor no vinegar (citrus juice/fermented sake), it is not a sushi. Consider using another name. Well, the concept is large enough to play around with shapes and toppings.

Personal opinion : what makes a good sushi, is :

ONE : the rice, quality (Japonica or Arborio, which is a Japonica anyway) and good preparation.
TWO : there should be a way to distinguish a sushi and a hamburger (I mean no ketchup, no cheese, no fries…)

Enjoy the visit…