White Seabass Poke Bowl + Roll
Recipe by Eric Keener freshly speared Ghost Fish gifted by Giray “The Pumpkin” Armağan.
There is a special bond with friends that are generous with their wild food. We are blessed to have a great circle of fishermen, hunters and gardeners who partake in rare or exotic ingredients and enjoy sharing them with one another. Gifting some lingcod to one might result in a return gift of wild rabbit, or home grown veggies might be returned with a strip of tuna belly, or in the case of our friend Matt Bond, you’ll get a box of which half the ingredients you can’t properly pronounce! In this case, Giray made a last minute trip down to the Channel Islands and successfully landed a white seabass - on his very first drop of the entire trip. He was very generous and dropped off some for us to play with! We made a poke bowl with a side of sushi. The goal was to let the seabass flavor shine, so both dishes were super basic, with an easy process which in turned resulted in a delicious meal!
Poke Bowl
Ingredients
White Seabass (or other sushi grade white fish*), cubed
1/2 C Edamame, shelled
1/4 C Red Onion, diced
1 Avocado, cubed
1 pinch Hawaiian Black Sea Salt (or other coarse salt)
1 Tbsp Fresh Yuzu Citrus (substitute lime if yuzu is not available)
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 Tpsb Ikura (Salmon Roe Caviar)
2 C Sushi Rice (recipe here)
Method
Start by making some sushi rice (recipe here). While rice is cooking, in a mixing bowl, coat the fish in the citrus, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Set in fridge until ready to serve.
Once you’re ready to plate up the meal, gently stir in the onion and avocado to the mixing bowl with the coated fish.
In a small serving bowl, add a ball of sushi rice at the bottom.
Add the mixture over the rice, sprinkle on some salt and top with the Ikura.
White Seabass Sushi Roll (aka The Ghost Roll)
Ingredients
White Seabass (or other sushi grade white fish*), thick sliced
Avocado, sliced into strips
Cucumber, sliced in thin strips
Jalapeño, cut in half, seeded then thin sliced
Gochujang (Korean Red Pepper Paste)
Tobiko
Toasted Sesame Seeds
Nori (seaweed sheets)
Sushi Rice (recipe here)
Soy Sauce
Method
Once the sushi rice is ready and cool, set up your sushi station. Place a sheet of cling wrap over a bamboo roller mat. Add a sheet of nori on top of the cling wrap. Wet your hands on a damp towel to keep the sushi rice from sticking on your skin, and firmly press a thin layer of rice over the sheet of nori, being careful not to rip it. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds over the top of the rice.
Flip the nori over so the rice is down and the nori is up. Coat your strips of cucumber in soy sauce then add them and the avocado strips - centered on top for the length of the nori.
Using the cling wrap, start to roll the nori up on itself (like a burrito) around the veggies. Add some water or soy sauce to the outer edge of the nori to help it stick to itself. Tightly roll the nori up using the cling wrap as a tool for making sure it’s very firmly rolled. Then with the bamboo mat, roll it over the plastic, and squeeze hard to shape the roll into a cylinder.
With a very sharp knife, cut the roll into even slices and carefully peel the plastic off.
Place your roll sections on top of your serving dish, add the slices of fish on top of each piece and then top with Jalapeño, tobiko and gochujang.
Bon Appetite!
*It is very important to note that the Center for Disease Control recommends freezing all meat at -4 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 days before consuming it raw. Most household freezers do not get this cold so you will need to put it in a commercial or household deep freezer.