Tataki's — Faux-Nagi
By Tataki Sushi & Sake Bar - San Francisco, CA

Makes 16 (servings of nigiri sushi)

Note: This is our sustainable replacement for unagi, farmed freshwater eel.

Ingredients:
3 lbs. sablefish* fillet
2 pieces konbu
1/2 C water
1/2 C soy sauce
1/2 C sugar
3 T mirin
3 T sake
1 handful katsuobushi (skipjack* flakes)
Potato starch
Sea salt
Sesame seeds
Extra sake
Extra water

Procedures:
Dust both sides of sablefish fillet with sea salt. Wrap in plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.

Remove fillet and unwrap. Wash salt off fillet with very cold water. Blot dry with paper towel.

Wet a new paper towel with sake. Use this towel to moisten konbu. Sandwich the sablefish between the two pieces of sake-moistened konbu. Wrap in plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator. Let sit 30-40 minutes.

Unwrap, remove konbu and return to refrigerator.
Mix soy, sugar, mirin, 3 tablespoons sake, katsuobushi and 3 tablespoons water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, about 10 min. Drain and remove katsuobushi. Set soy/mirin sauce aside.

In a small bowl, combine cold water and potato starch at a 4:1 ratio. Stir to create a thickener. Return soy/mirin sauce to a boil and lower heat to a simmer.

Add potato starch thickener to the soy/mirin sauce, little by little, until desired consistency is reached. Remove from heat and let cool.

To Serve:
Slice sablefish into portions, as appropriate for nigiri, sashimi or whatever dish is being served. Lightly char one side of fish with a small butane torch or sear very briefly in a hot saucepan. Top fish with a drizzle of the soy/mirin sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Serve atop rice or as desired.

*Seafood Watch: recommends wild-caught sablefish from Alaska and British Columbia.