Healthy cuisine: the keys to an authentic Japanese ‘tataki’. A very traditional Asian dish that is a mixture of raw and cooked, becoming one of the healthiest, lightest and perfect options for dinner.
The Japanese tataki is, in fact, a cooking technique originally from the ancient province of Tosa, on the island of Shikoku in the south of the country. There was popularized, above all, the one that is made from the precious prey that its inhabitants fish, but it can be tuna, salmon, hamachi (the tender lemon fish), meat (chicken never) and even vegetables. While, in Spain, the one that we find ourselves in the restaurants is the first of them, in fact, it is a dish that allows great versatility due to the variety of its main ingredient and the marinades that accompany it. And, even if you do not believe it, you can jump without problem from the most professional stoves to your own kitchen, becoming one of your favorite dishes if you manage to master the technique.
WHAT DO I HAVE TO FIX ME?
This Japanese tataki is characterized, mainly, by the cut of the fish and the cooking that must be given, staying between the raw and the cooked; that is to say, it is necessary to pay attention to two important moments: the one of the purchase of the product and in which we decided to pass it by the frying pan, with the temperature and just times.
The best piece to make a Japanese tataki is always the loin, whether it is fish or meat. The steaks can also serve you, but they cook much faster and, surely, we end up going through the cooking without realizing it. Buy the fresh product, looking at the color of the piece – keep in mind that, staying raw inside, how much more alive, more showy. And if you have decided on fish, do not risk the anisakis; freeze it, at least, for 48 hours. With this already done, the second critical moment is to pass it through the pan: always use very strong fire, grease the pan with very little oil and seal the sides of the piece just 15 or 20 seconds. Once you have these two things clear, you can make a perfect tataki.
HOW TO MAKE ‘TATAKI’: STEP BY STEP QUICKLY
Once you have your fish thawed or your meat ready, the first thing you should do is marinate it. To do this, put the pieces on a plate with the sauce and let them rest, at least, for a couple of hours. When you remove them, keep that marinade to throw it in the pan at the end of cooking, take the juices of fish or meat and serve as a side dish at the end.
-Reboza the pieces in sesame, which can be white or black; although if you want to be a little more original, why not try to chop very fine nuts?
-Put iron on very high heat, with hardly any oil, and mark all the sides of the piece just 15 or 20 seconds.
-Once the piece has cooled, file it in the same way you would serve a sashimi . In the end, it is almost the same, except that the latter is completely raw.
TYPES OF MARINED
Although the most classic marinade is the one based on soy sauce, there are many possibilities, above all, with the ingredients among which we can choose to complete its flavor:
-Soy sauce and ginger
-Soy sauce, also with ginger, but also with garlic and lime juice.
-Olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, and garlic.
-Soy sauce, orange juice, lime juice, a little ginger and Dijon mustard.
-Soy sauce, sesame (the same that we have left over to impregnate the pieces) and cumin powder.
-Sweet sake, sesame, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic powder.
