Steamed red mullet with ceps, ginan sauce and ponzu jelly
- medium
- 4
- 30 minutes plus 3 hours marinating time
This stunning Japanese dish from Endo Kazutoshi combines gently steamed red mullet with a slightly smoky grilled cep and a tart ponzu jelly. This sits in a light sauce of dashi, soy and sake named ginan – which translates to 'silver' as the sauce can look silvery in the right light. The mullet is lightly cured and flavoured by the natural salts in the kombu seaweed – this takes three hours, so ensure you leave enough time.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Ginan sauce
- 11 tbsp of dashi
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of sake
- 1 tsp kuzu, mixed with a splash of water to create a paste
Ponzu jelly
- 100g of ponzu
- 0.4g of agar agar
To serve
- 1 spring onion, green part only, very finely sliced on the angle
- Hana hojiso, also known as perilla blossom or shiso flowers
- Kimone leaves, also known as sansho leaves
Equipment
- Steamer
- Barbecue
Method
Fillet and pin bone the mullet if using a whole fish, then trim off the belly. Cut each fillet into 2 equal pieces, so you're left with 4 pieces of prepared fish in total
- 1 red mullet, or 2 fillets
While you wait, make the ponzu jelly. Pour the ponzu into a small saucepan and gently warm through. Mix the agar agar with a splash of water, then pour this into the hot ponzu. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and chill – the mixture should thicken and turn into a loose jelly
- 100g of ponzu
- 0.4g of agar agar
Prepare a large steamer and light a Japanese konro grill. Remove the kombu from the fish, then place the pieces of mullet skin-side up onto a small stainless steel tray which will fit inside the steamer. Season the fish with a little sake and salt, then wrap up the tray in heat resistant cling film and place in the hot steamer. Steam for 10 minutes
As the fish steams, make the ginan sauce by combining all the ingredients (apart from the kuzu) in a pan and gently warming through. Add the kuzu and stir to combine and thicken (you may not need all the kuzu)
- 11 tbsp of dashi
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of sake
- 1 tsp kuzu, mixed with a splash of water to create a paste
Add the cep mushrooms to the konro and cook until lightly charred and tender throughout – Endo places a sheet of wet paper on top of the mushrooms to help them steam as they cook
- 2 ceps, halved
To serve, pour the ginan sauce into 4 small serving bowls and place a piece of steamed mullet on top
Garnish the fish with little pieces of the ponzu jelly and a halved mushroom. Finish the dish with a sprinkling of spring onion, hana hojiso and kimone leaves
- 1 spring onion, green part only, very finely sliced on the angle
- Hana hojiso, also known as perilla blossom or shiso flowers
- Kimone leaves, also known as sansho leaves
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