Hairy crab and sea urchin nori roll with orange ankake sauce

This recipe was created especially for Adam by Hokkaido chef Yasunori Okada at his two-Michelin star restaurant, Kappo Okada, in Sapporo. The dish combines oranges from South Australia (Adam’s home state) with ishiru, a kind of fermented fish sauce, from Ishikawa prefecture, where Adam’s wife Asami was born.

Credit: Destination Flavour Japan

• serves

  4

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Ace

Ingredients

• vegetable oil, for deep frying (about 2 litres)
• black pepper, to serve

Kombu dashi (makes 1.1 litres)

• 30 g dried kombu
• 1 litre (4 cups) water
• 100 ml sake

Burdock kakiage

• ¼ stick burdock root

Shiitake-stuffed peppers

• 4 shishito peppers (see note)
• 2 large fresh shiitake mushrooms

Tempura batter

• 150 g (1 cup) low-gluten plain flour
• 250 ml (1 cup) cold water

Hairy crab and sea urchin nori roll

• 32 g sea urchin roe
• 1 sheet nori
• 80 g boiled and picked hairy crab meat

Orange ankake sauce

• 360 ml kombu dashi
• 160 ml chopped orange flesh, pith and seeds discarded, juice reserved
• 60 ml ishiru (see note)
• 2 tbsp kuzu powder, dissolved to slurry in 60 ml (¼ cup) cold water (see note)

Soaking time overnight

You will need to begin this recipe 1 day ahead.

Instructions

To make the kombu dashi, wipe the kombu with a dry cloth to remove any dirt. Combine with the water and soak overnight (or at least 8 hours) at room temperature. Remove the kombu, add the sake to the liquid and bring to the boil in a large saucepan. Remove from the heat and cool.

To make the burdock kakiage, rinse the burdock under running water and brush or scrape with the back of a knife to clean. Do not peel the burdock, as the skin has a lot of flavour. With a sharp knife, finely shave the burdock into a bowl of acidulated water (water with a little lemon juice or vinegar added to it), as if you were sharpening a pencil. Allow the burdock to stand in the water for 10 minutes or until the water turns slightly brown. Strain when ready to cook.

To make the shiitake-stuffed peppers, remove the stems from the peppers, and with the tip of a knife or a skewer, cut and shake out the seeds from inside the cavity. Remove the stalk from the mushrooms and slice them thickly. Place 1 or 2 slices inside each pepper.

To make the tempura batter, mix together the flour and water using a cutting motion. Do not over-mix the batter – a few lumps is fine. 

To make the nori roll, place the sea urchin roe on a plate in a steamer, and steam for 5 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Heat the oil for deep-frying to 170˚C. Test the temperature with a thermometer, if you have one.

When the oil reaches the right temperature, cut the nori sheet into quarters. With the shiny side of the nori down against a cutting board, lay a strip of crab meat and a strip of sea urchin roe along one edge. Roll up the nori into a cylinder, using a little tempura batter to seal the edge. Dip the roll into the batter and shake off any excess. Deep-fry for about 2 minutes or just until the batter is crisp.

Dip and fry the stuffed shishito peppers using the same method.

For the burdock kakiage, stir a little tempura batter through the strained burdock and pick up a clump with chopsticks. Drop it into the oil, pushing the burdock together with chopsticks so that it remains in one clump. Remove from the oil and set aside on a wire rack to drain.

To make the orange ankake sauce, bring the kombu dashi to the boil. Stir through the orange flesh and juice, and the ishiru. Drizzle the kuzu slurry into the mixture over heat, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.

Place the burdock kakiage in a bowl. Slice the nori roll diagonally through the middle and arrange on top of the kakiage. Place the stuffed pepper next to the nori and pour over the sauce. Grind over some black pepper and serve immediately.

Note
• If you cannot find shishito peppers, substitute with small green banana chillies or baby capsicums.

• Ishiru is an Ishikawa prefecture fish sauce. Substitute with soy sauce or Vietnamese fish sauce.

• Instead of the kuzu powder, you can use arrowroot powder, potato starch or corn starch.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.