Salmon Tartare with Avocado-Wasabi Mousse and Furikake Tuile

Posted by Justin on October 3, 2011 · 11 Comments 

Three or so weeks ago, Janice and her good friend Lillian (a talented, creative, artsy-fartsy whiz-kid whose works you can ogle at here) embarked on their mini-American adventure to experience the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of Los Angeles, Washington D.C, New York and Boston. As Janice periodically and briefly updated me about her exciting dining experiences at Michelin starred restaurants such as Thomas Keller’s Per Se, I could only writhe and roll on the floor in a fit of jealousy imagine silently in a zen state of mind how a humble slice of pear would taste like once it left the skilled hands of my culinary heroes. Quite pearrr-fect I would think!

However, as her travelling days went by, she found herself missing Adelaide and its people (much to her surprise and for a variety of reasons which I will not go into here) despite finally fulfilling her dream of experiencing New York first-hand. The recent weekend of her return to us had been highly anticipated for quite awhile and we wanted to welcome her back with the warm-fuzzy feeling food cooked by loved ones brings. This intention eventually birthed a tag-team effort from Kristen and me to cook up a three-course lunch to be enjoyed on a cool Sunday afternoon.

I decided to prepare the entrée and mains while Kristen – whom I’d like to label as somewhat of a dessert maestro in the making – was in charge of the sweet end to our meal. Each of the courses will be detailed in separate entries – one of which features Kristen’s brief guest post about her dessert!

First up, my entrée which I call Salmon Tartare with Avocado-Wasabi Mousse and Furikake Tuile! The inspiration for using tuiles for this dish came from Thomas Keller’s “Cornets” – Salmon Tartare with Sweet Red Onion Crème Fraîche. I was always determined to replicate his recipe from the French Laundry Cookbook one day, but for that particular lunch affair, I decided to bring my own originality to the plate. Janice l-o-v-e-s Japanese cuisine. So all I had to do was Japanese-ify it.

Tartare is essentially a preparation of finely chopped raw meat or fish which can be optionally flavoured with seasonings and sauces. Good quality meat or fish is always recommended for tartars because they make a noticeable difference in its final consumption – mostly because it is after all eaten raw. I used fresh Atlantic salmon bought from the local fishmonger and immediately placed it in the freezer the moment I got home. Before preparation, I allowed it to defrost in room temperature until the texture is just soft enough for the knife to cut through. I personally think this makes the fine dicing process a whole lot easier compared to doing it on a completely defrosted fish fillet. That said, my lack of kitchen discipline allowed me to be distracted by the CSI episode Janice’s mom was watching on TV. By the time I came back to the fish, it had defrosted further into a softer texture making the dicing process more challenging. Hence, the pieces weren’t as finely and equally diced as I would have preferred them to be.

Once that was done, I finely chopped up some chives and added them to the salmon dices along with some finely grated lemon zest.

To provide some additional hints of sweetness and saltiness to the tartare, I used furikake – a dry Japanese condiment often sprinkled on rice in Japanese cuisine.

You can get different varieties of furikake from the local Asian grocery store but they mainly consist of a mixture of dried and ground fish, finely chopped seaweed, sesame seeds, sugar and salt. The one I used also has katsuobushi (also known as bonito flakes) giving it the additional umami taste which we so love in Japanese food. A few generous sprinkles, a good mix and the whole mixture was stored in a non-reactive bowl in the fridge overnight to allow the flavours to meld.

Next was the preparation of the furikake tuiles. Tuile is French for ‘tile’. It is a thin, crisp sweet or savoury cookie or wafer made of dough or cheese. Tartares often go really well with a crispy element in the dish. For my entree, I decided to make savoury tuiles that were slightly thicker than your typical tuile. I wanted people to eat this dish only with a fork and their fingers. Hence, the tuile had to be less brittle than the usual deal so that it could hold bite size amounts of salmon tartare on it.

Firstly, I preheated the oven to 190°C. Then, I prepared a ¼ cup of sifted plain flour, three tablespoons of sugar, the whites of two large eggs and roughly 120g of butter softened under room temperature.

Using a spoon, I incorporated the egg whites into the flour and sugar mixture, beating it until smooth.

The softened butter was whisked in a separate bowl to a mayonnaise like consistency.

Once the desired texture was achieved, I whisked the butter into the flour mixture until the final mixture itself was smooth.

In order to make even-shaped tuiles, I used the cardboard from a cereal box and made a rectangular stencil out of it.

However, the cardboard from a milk-carton box would be much better as it is thicker and waterproof on one side. The latter allows the stencil’s integrity to last longer when exposed to the batter. My cereal cardboard was very flimsy and was almost falling apart towards the end of this process, but it did well to serve its purpose.

Using a small offset spatula and a silicon baking mat (you can use regular parchment paper), I spread about a tablespoon worth of batter over the stencil ensuring an even layer is made for each tuile. Make sure there is adequate space in between the tuiles as they will expand slightly in the oven. I then sprinkled some furikake and black sesame seeds over each tuile and placed the whole tray in the preheated oven for 5-10 minutes.

Keep a close watch on your tuiles – you don’t want a tray of burnt popsicle sticks do you?

The tuiles should be slightly golden brown around the edges and light brown in the centre. Once left to cool, they should be crisp, giving out a nice snap when you break one into half!

 

The last element of the dish it the avocado-wasabi mousse. This is probably the simplest bit to do and should be done slightly before serving time!

This together with a few dashes of freshly squeezed lemon juice will prevent the avocado from oxidising into an unappetizing brownish colour. I basically sliced up some avocadoes, put them in a food processor together with some thickened cream and wasabi (1-2 teaspoons will do unless you want a real kick in your mousse) and blended the whole thing to a smooth light green mousse.

Told you it was simple.

Once all the elements were ready for serving, it was time for assembly! Using a round cookie cutter mould, I heaped a few table spoons of salmon tartare and patted it down to a nice compact cylinder on the plate. A dollop of avocado-wasabi mousse smeared on the plate, sprinkles of furikake on top followed by the tuile at the edge of the tartare tower and two chive ends! There you go, my take on a salmon tartare.

The verdict? Well, there wasn’t anything left on everyone’s plate and I was still licking off the last bits of furikake and avocado mousse  off my fingers. Who said anything about table manners?

Filed under Seafood, Stock/Sauces · Tagged with avocado, furikake, japanese, mousse, salmon tartare, tuile, wasabi