Dashi-Poached Halibut Ochazuke
Delicate white fish served over a piping hot bowl of rice steeped in tea and dashi
Dashi-Poached Halibut Ochazuke Recipe
yields 2 servings
ingredients
Dashi-poached halibut
50g kombu
20g bonito flakes
¾ to 1 lb halibut, filleted
2+ tsp kosher salt
Ochazuke
1 tsp grated ginger
½ tsp wasabi
2+ tbsp genmai or Japanese rice crackers
1 green onion, sliced
¼ tsp white sesame seeds, toasted
Japanese pickles
1 tbsp nori, shredded
1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
½ tsp mirin
(Optional) yuzu salt
Tea-Dashi
½ cup genmaicha tea
½ cup dashi
(Optional) ⅛ tsp matcha powder
Directions
A few hours before or the day before, prepare the kombu for the dashi. Wipe the kombu with a damp towel and soak in water for at least 3 hours or overnight. When finished soaking, drain the water and place the kombu in a small saucepan. Fill the saucepan with 5 cups or more of water and on medium heat, bring up the temperature of the water; when it reaches 60°C, pull the kombu out. Next, bring the heat to 80°C and put in the dashi packet. Simmer while keeping the dashi temperature at 80°C; after 7 or so minutes, add in the bonito flakes and simmer for another 5 minutes at 80°C. Then, strain the dashi to remove the bonito flakes and discard the dashi packet; the broth should be clear with a golden tint. Set aside a half cup of dashi for the tea-dashi mix. There should be at least 4 cups of dashi left in the saucepan; if the depth of the liquid is more than you need to submerge the halibut fillets, you can save the extra dashi for other recipes.
Slice the halibut into fillet sized pieces and very generously salt both sides. Over medium-low heat, bring the dashi to a slow simmer again at 80°C. Next, slip the halibut pieces into the dashi and poach until just opaque in the center, about 10 minutes depending on the size of the pieces. For a light, flaky fish, the liquid should be kept at around 80°C the entire time; once the fish reaches an internal temperature of 60°C, or when the flesh flakes easily, the fish is ready. Use a slotted spoon to remove the fish from the saucepan into a bowl to keep before assembling. Before serving, I also like to sear the fish with avocado oil in a small skillet over medium high heat to give the fish a little shine and brown the edges. No more than a minute on each side is necessary, and take care not to burn or overcook the fish.
To make the tea-dashi, first steep the tea. I like using genmaicha for ochazuke because of the toasted rice flavor, but any Japanese green tea should work well. Mix a half cup of genmaicha with the reserved dashi and the matcha powder, if using.
To assemble the bowl, scoop rice into a small bowl to mold it, before dropping it into a larger serving bowl. Place the poached fish on top of the rice and add the mixins (grated ginger, sliced green onion, wasabi, genmai, Japanese pickles, shredded nori). In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce and mirin and set aside. Then, pour about a half-cup of the tea mixture to steep the rice. Serve immediately.
To eat, pour the soy-mirin mixture on top the fish. For a different taste, sprinkle some yuzu salt on the fish about halfway through the meal.
Notes
Ochazuke is a comfort food that is traditionally made with salted salmon, as the strong flavor of the salmon contrasts with the lightness of the ochazuke, but I haven’t bought salmon in months so halibut is what I’ve been using. It doesn’t contrast in the same way, but I love it because the flaky halibut provides an incredibly satisfying and tender mouthfeel. The best way to describe this is… reminds me of Megumi from Shokugeki.
