When you are grilling fresh fish, rub salt into the tail and fins and sprinkle a light coating of salt on the skin.  Simply grill and serve with Japanese white radish and soy sauce and/or lemon.

Coat the swordfish steaks with olive oil on each side or coat the grill with olive oil.  Squeeze lemon juice over the fillets. Cook on a pre-heated grill for about 3 minutes each side or until it flakes easily.  Serve with fresh ground pepper.

Cod is a wonderful, low-fat fish that can be prepared in many ways.  Three varying marinades have been described below.  

After marinading the cod, grill it and serve immediately.

Typical Japanese Marinade

• 3 tbsp sugar
• 4 tbsp white miso paste
• ¼ cup sake
• ¼ cup mirin

Mix these ingredients together and store in a plastic container.  Marinate cod with this marinade for 24 hours

Non-Miso Marinade

• 5 tbsp mirin
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• ¼ cup water

Mix these ingredients together and marinate the cod for 30 to 40 minutes

White Wine Marinade 

• 1 med garlic clove, minced
• ¾ tsp dried oregano
• ¾ tsp paprika
• ¾ tsp ground cumin
• ground pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ cup white wine

Mix these ingredients together and marinate the cod for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.  Add dill or other favourite herbs to this marinade.

 Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cup dashi
• 4 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cod fillets, cut into 2 inch lengths
• 1/4 head Chinese cabbage, washed and cut into 2-3 inch lengths
• 1 leek, cut diagonally
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
• 8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
• 6 oz cellophane noodles (vermicelli) - optional 

Put the dashi soup stock in a nabe pot or large pot and bring it to a boil. Add the sake, soy sauce, mirin, and salt. Turn the heat to low. Add the cod to the soup. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the fish, vegetables and noodles are soft and cooked throughout. 

You can add pretty well any vegetable you like to nabe.  Potatoes and tofu are a favourite of mine.

A Slice of the Sea

Ingredients

3 cups chopped fresh spinach 2 – 4 tbsp water 1 med onion, diced 3 tbsp butter 1/2 cup / 85 grams scallops, chopped  1/2 cup / 85 grams raw shrimp, peeled and chopped  ½ cup / 85 grams cod, chopped 4 eggs 2 cups fresh cream 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp white pepper 1 9-inch pie shell Bring the spinach and water to a boil in a covered pan. Let it cook for 1 minute. Drain and cool. Squeeze the excess water from the spinach.  Squeeze hard – the spinach is strong! Saute the onion in butter in a frying pan until the onion is tender. Add the scallops and shrimp and cook until the shrimp is pink, about 2 minutes. Add the diced fish and cooled spinach. Cook another 2 minutes.  Drain off any excess liquid. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, cream, salt and pepper, and beat until well blended. Spoon the fish and spinach into the pie shell. Pour the cream mixture over the seafood. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Scallops can be grilled or sauted - Either way these fresh Hokkaido scallops are delicious.  

Pan seared scallops can be prepared with a crusty coating... and eaten on their own OR with your favourite pasta.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp salt
• dash oregano
• dash thyme
• 2 tbsp lemon pepper
• 16 scallops, rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 4 tsp lemon juice

Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl.  Lightly coat the scallops in the flour mixture.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add scallops to the pan and cook on each side for 2 minutes.  Prepare all of the scallops and then coat them with parsley and lemon juice.  These can be served on their own or mixed with your favourite pasta.

Zesty Scallops 

Ingredients

• 10 large fresh scallops finely sliced
• 1 avocado peeled & diced
• 1/4 bell pepper (red, orange or yellow)
• 2 Tbsp baby ginger, minced
• 2 Tbsp, red onion, minced
• Juice of 1 lime
• Several Tbsp of LIGHT soy sauce
• Sea salt
• Fresh coarsely ground pepper 
• A few Tbsp of Olive oil
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• Zest of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp chives or banno negi (spring onions) finely chopped 

Mix all ingredients gently in a large bowl
Adjust seasonings according to taste
Serve in individual bowls and top with lime zest
 
Is great with champagne
 

Coat the John Dory fillets in flour.  Coat the bottom of a frying pan with butter and turn on medium high.  Place the fillet, skin-side down in the frying pan for a maximum of 3 minutes and turn to cook the other side.  Serve with a wedge of lemon.

Preparing John Dory

Pan-frying John Dory

1. Wash the fillet and pat it dry 2. Note the spots on the John Dory skin 3. Dip the fillet in flour, covering it completely on both sides 4. Melt butter in a frying pan and put on medium heat.  Place the fillet skin-side down and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Store the wasabi root in the refrigerator in a damp paper towel.

When preparing the wasabi, rinse it under cold water.  Peel the outer skin using a peeler or knife.  Remove the knobs and rinse again.

Grate the wasabi root and gather the grated wasabi into a ball.  Let it stand for about 15 minutes and serve at room temperature.  Cover with saran wrap until serving it.

Avoid touching eyes or sensitive skin after handling the wasabi.  It is similar to fresh chili peppers.

** Wasabi in mashed potatoes made your potatoes pop...

Oyster puffs, or Joysters as I like to call them, are a great, light appetizer.  They look like a mini-souffle.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp dried chili pepper (optional – if you like spicy foods)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup fresh, frozen, or canned oysters – dried and finely chopped (I use Andy's fresh oysters)
• sauce for dipping

Preparation:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the water and butter to a rolling boil in a saucepan.  Decrease the heat and stir in the flour and salt. Stir over low heat until the mixture forms a ball (about 1 minute).  Remove from heat. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until smooth. Stir in the oyster pieces. Drop the dough by slightly rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 25 minutes until puffed and golden.  Serve hot as appetizers with a dipping sauce of your choice. This recipe makes 60 puffs.

Suggested dipping sauces – Ponzu dipping sauce, sweet chili sauce or a spicy sauce of your liking.

A delicious way to serve fresh oysters - for those of you who do not like them raw.

Ingredients

• 8 tbsp flour
• 8 tbsp potato starch (katakuriko)
• 2 eggs
• Oysters (washed and patted dry)
• Lemon wedges
• Salted butter

Combine the flour and potato starch in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.  Dip each oyster in egg and then cover them with flour mixture by dipping them in it. 

For a thicker coating, double-dip (dip in egg mixture and flour mixture) again.

Place the coated oysters on a plate, covered with wrap, and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Remove from the refrigerator and let them stand for 15 minutes.  Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the oysters to the skillet, turning it up a little.  Fry them, turning once (about 2 minutes each side). 

Serve immediately with lemon wedges or with your favourite hot sauce.

Sakamushi, translates literally to 'steamed in sake'.  This is the easiest and tastiest way to serve asari or small clams.

Ingredients

• 500 grams clams
• 1/3 cup cooking sake
• dash of soy sauce (optional)

Clean the clams thoroughly. Put the clams in a large skillet and pour the sake over top.  Cover with a lid and steam by cooking them on high heat for several minutes until the clams are open.  Throw away any clams that do not open as these are not edible.  Serve immediately.  This recipe makes 4 servings.

The dash of soy sauce is used for colour.

Salmon – As YOU like it!

The one thing about great fish is it is so easy to prepare.  No difficult sauces, no timing problems.  The taste of the fresh and quality fish ensure the taste.

Grilled Salmon

Ingredients

• 2 salmon fillets (300 gms)                      
• 1 lemon - squeezed
• Salt - to taste                                      
• Pepper - to taste                      
• Your Favourite spice(s) - to taste
• 2 tbsp Olive oil 

Season the fillets with your spices, salt and pepper, and lemon juice and cover with aluminum foil to allow them to marinate for a minimum 30 minutes.

Pre-heat your grill or barbecue to high.  Using a small brush, coat the grill with olive oil to ensure that the fillets do not stick.

Remove the fillets from the aluminum foil and place them on the grill.  Grill on each side for 3 to 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.  If you would like a grill pattern on the fillets, place them on the hottest part of the grill for one minute on each side

Nikujaga (Meat Potato) is the perfect recipe for these wonderful organic vegetables.  Tasty and easy to make!!

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 4 large potatoes
• 7 ounces / 200 grams thinly sliced beef
• 2 cups / 400 ml soup stock - dashi
• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp sake
• 3 tbsp sugar

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 6-8 pieces.  Soak them in water for 5-6 minutes, then drain.  Peel the onions and cut them into 8 pieces.  Cut the beef into bite-size pieces.  Add oil to a frying pan and turn the heat on medium. Fry the potatoes until they are translucent at the edges.  Add the beef and onions and fry until the beef is browned.  Add the soup stock, soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar.  Simmer until the potatoes are soft.