AJI - JAPANESE MACKERAL

Day 1 ... Aji or Japanese mackerel in different incarnations. Filleting it is a slightly different approach from my LCB classes as more care has to be given to the texture of the flesh since it is sashimi grade, for instance, directing with fingers verses pushing with the palm. Using fresh mackerels from the world renowned Tsukiji Market we made several classics, including derivatives. Mari emphasized that the backbone of our sessions is what Japanese families would prepared at home ie home cooking at its best, and it is exactly what I am after.

*  Namerou : minced mackerel with Miso & leek served raw
*  Deep fried Shiitake with Namerou stuffing
*  Saba no Miso-ni : simmered mackerel in red Miso
*  Satsuma-age : deep fried mackerel paste with lotus root & onion
*  Tsumire-jiru : minced mackerel fish balls in clear Miso soup & sliced ginger

We also made 2 top favorite side dishes (1) Niku Miso Daikon : poached turnip with meaty Miso sauce (2) Renkon no Agedashi : lotus root cakes with Daikon sauce using the 'flash fry' method ... 'age' means deep fry and 'dash' is to remove, quickly.

Do you know?  The top end of the Daikon, the part right below the greens, is the sweetest and it is mostly grated for use in the dipping sauce for fried foods like Tempura which ... much to my illiterate surprise, is a word not of Japanese but Latin origins, brought to Japan by the Portuguese?  I need to check this one out. The end part is quite spicy, some may use this for salads and the middle section is best for cooking or poaching.  One last tip, use rice water (which becomes cloudy after washing the rice) to poach Daikon.

We met at 10am and it was 3pm when I said goodbye, after a gratifying round of tasting ... my very first novice Japanese recipes, and one for the history books alright.