Recipe
February 6, 2024
Arctic Char, Miso Eggplant and Saké Kasu
“Although this fish dish is inspired by Japanese cuisine, the majority of its ingredients can be found in Canada.” – Jérémie Bastien
Directions
Yield: Serves 4
For the miso eggplant
- Grill the whole eggplant on a charcoal (or gas) barbecue.
- Place in a sealable container (as it cools, the skin will loosen).
- Peel the eggplant.
- Using a knife, roughly chop the flesh. Transfer to a bowl and mix together with the moromi miso. Set aside.
For the green zucchini purée
- In a pan, cook the garlic and shallot in the olive oil over gentle heat.
- Add the grated zucchini and a pinch of salt, and then cook, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes to bring the water out of the vegetables.
- Increase the heat, remove the lid, and cook for 3to 4 minutes, stirring regularly, to dry out the zucchini.
- Using a blender, purée until smooth. Add salt to taste, and chill on ice (to keep the bright colours).
For the yellow zucchini purée
- In a pan, sweat the ginger in the olive oil.
- Add the grated zucchini and a pinch of salt, and then cook, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes to bring the water out of the vegetables.
- Increase the heat, remove the lid, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring regularly, to dry out the zucchini.
- Using a blender, purée until smooth. Add salt to taste, and chill on ice.
For the miso glaze
- Place all of the miso glaze ingredients except the butter in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, and then, with the machine running, gradually add the butter and purée until emulsified.
For the pickled mushrooms
- In a pan over medium heat, fry the mushrooms in the oil.
- Stir in the sugar, and then deglaze with the vinegar.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and set aside, covered, for 15 minutes.
For the char
- Cook the char for 3 to 5 minutes in the salamander broiler (or broil; see note next page). The flesh should just start to be cooked around the central bone, so adapt the cooking time to the size of the fish.
- Peel of the skin and dry the flesh with a paper or kitchen towel. Slather 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the miso glaze on each portion of fish, and finish cooking with a blowtorch (or broil; see note next page).
To assemble
- On each plate, assemble: 1 portion of char fillet; 1 tsp (5 mL) yellow zucchini purée, spread with an angled spatula; 1 tsp (5 mL) green zucchini purée, spread with an angled spatula; A quenelle (1 tbsp/15 mL) of miso eggplant; 3 pickled mushrooms; 1 stem of common ice plant.
Author: Alexandra Whyte
Source:
Excerpted from Asian Vegetables by Stéphanie Wang, Caroline Wang, and Patricia Ho-Yi Wang. Translated by J.C. Sutcliffe. ©2023 Stéphanie Wang, Caroline Wang, and Patricia Ho-Yi Wang. Published by House of Anansi Press