Alaskan Shrimp Harumaki with Lime-Infused Ponzu Dipping Sauce

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Harumaki (spring rolls) are a fun, tasty, easy-to-make appetizer or side dish. Both the wrappers and the filling can be modified to suit just about any taste. Recipes follow.

So named because they were a traditional part of Chinese New Year and a celebration of the coming spring, originally spring rolls were filled with vegetables and shaped like gold bars; thus they were a symbol of prosperity and good fortune. When Chinese immigrants brought this popular food to Japan, the name was directly translated to haru (spring) maki (roll). These days spring rolls are part of menus the world over, in part because they easily lend themselves to fusion cooking.

Our contribution to a recent dinner party was harumaki filled with sweet Alaskan shrimp, shitake mushrooms and fennel, which we’d recently been presented as a gift. These ingredients were arranged on a piece of nori (dried seaweed) and rolled up in thin squares of one of our favorite pasta doughs. Served hot from the deep fryer along with a lime-infused Ponzu dipping sauce, they were a big hit.

The Alaskan shrimp we use in our recipes are usually pink, coon stripe or side stripe shrimp – species often served in sushi restaurants as ama-ebi (sweet shrimp). The pinks and side stripes in particular have a distinctively sweet flavor.

Alaska Shrimp Harumaki (for eight, two-bite rolls)

Ingredients:

2 to 4 shitake mushrooms
8 nori (dried seaweed) rectangles approximately 2 1/2″ x 3 “
8 wrappers 3″ x 3″ (we used pasta dough). (Ready-made egg roll wrappers are available in most grocery stores.)
8 ounces shrimp, shelled and veins removed
fresh fennel leaves – enough for each roll
1 tbsp lime juice
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
olive oil
water (to help seal the wrappers)

Directions:

Cut the mushrooms into 1/4 inch slices.
If shrimp are small, use whole. Otherwise cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
In a bowl, toss together the mushrooms, shrimp, lime juice, ground pepper and sea salt.
Place 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and heat over medium heat till oil sizzles when a drop of water is added. Add the shrimp mixture, stirring frequently for about 90 seconds. Remove from heat and return mixture to bowl to avoid overcooking.
Place one piece of nori in center of each wrapper. (Prevent nori from breaking by first dipping in water.) Place shrimp mixture and fennel in center of nori.
To wrap: Position square so that one corner is toward you. Fold this corner over the filling. Next fold the right and left corners over the filling. Then roll wrapper toward top (remaining) corner as you would a burrito.
Seal by slightly moistening the last corner and gentle pressing closed. Seal well to prevent oil from leaking in during deep frying.
In a deep fryer or sufficiently large pot: Add enough frying oil (we use light olive oil or canola oil) so that rolls will be completely submersed. Bring oil to 350°F. Place rolls into oil and cook until wraps are golden brown. Do not overcrowd. Remove and drain on a plate covered with paper towel.
Serve immediately with ponzu dipping sauce.

Lime-Infused Ponzu Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
small square (about 3/4 inch) konbu (dried kelp)

Directions:

Mix the ingredients together in a non-reactive container and let rest for 8 hours.
Remove konbu.
Combine the following dried ingredients to make 1 tbsp: onion, garlic, chili pepper, cilantro. Or use fresh ingredients.

Pasta Wrappers

Ingredients:

1 cup semolina
1 egg
1 tbsp olive oil
water

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the ingredients with a fork.
Add 1 tbsp water. Continue combining. Consistency of dough should be as dry scrambled eggs. Add more water 1 tbsp at a time as necessary.
Kneed dough by hand till it forms a ball. Wrap ball in plastic (or cover container tightly) and let rest for 20 minutes.
Finish processing into squares using a manual pasta machine.

Cedar Planked Sweet Alaskan Shrimp on Mushrooms

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Cedar planks add fire-cooked aroma and rustic class to seafood. The planks work in ovens as well as on the grill. In making this dish, I supplemented a few Crimini caps given to me by a friend with pieces of dried oyster mushrooms.

We are convinced that one of Alaska’s best kept secrets is that it is a food-lover’s paradise. Many Alaskans harvest wild game such as moose, Sitka deer, caribou, mountain sheep and ptarmigan. Ranched reindeer, bison and elk are available as well.

The growing season may be short, but with long hours of sunshine, markets in central and southeast Alaska are typically full of locally grown produce. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cloudberries, currents and more can be found growing wild or purchased at local markets, making Alaska one of the best places on earth to get a slice of pie or a jar of jam. Meanwhile, foraging for mushrooms and edible plants, including seaweed, remains an important part of the culture up here. Not long ago, we were treated to a salad featuring young fireweed shoots, and the seaweed salads we’ve had have been delicious. While the wines we pour with this bounty are shipped up, we don’t have to go far at all to enjoy superbly crafted local beers.

But the centerpiece of Alaskan food is without a doubt seafood, starting with salmon. All five Pacific species are abundant, and they all have their place in the kitchen. Fresh halibut is a revelation on the palate, not to mention one of the most versatile fishes one can cook with. People who eat a lot of fish often find that they end up preferring various species of delicately flavored rockfish. Our own top choice is sea-run Dolly Varden – a char with pale orange flesh, a delicate flavor, and just enough fat to be self-basting. Aside from these fin fish, there are oysters, sea scallops, clams and several species of crabs, all of which benefit from Alaska’s clean, cold seas.

And, of course, there are shrimp. Known as amaebi in Japan, the shrimp of Alaska’s waters are prized for their natural sweetness. The recipe offered below has many possible variations. For example, try a shiso leaf instead of the tarragon, freshly picked chanterelles or Portabellos instead of Crimini mushrooms, or, for a lighter flavor, sea salt instead of soy sauce. Ginger, lime zest, sherry or a sprinkling of sake would add yet another dimension.

Cedar Planked Sweet Alaskan Shrimp on Mushrooms

Ingredients

cedar or alder plank, soaked for at least 2 hours
12 Alaskan shrimp, peeled, deveined, butterflied, tail on, and if large enough, lightly scored
12 fresh mushroom caps or 12 appropriately sized pieces of any good mushroom
2 tablespoons clarified butter
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
freshly cracked pepper

Directions

Preheat oven broiler to hot (500 °F).
Heat clarified butter in frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and mushrooms. Add soy sauce, sprinkling on mushrooms and in butter, and move mushrooms around to coat with butter and soy sauce. Cook till mushrooms are just cooked, turning once.
Remove mushrooms from pan and place on plank. Sprinkle each piece with dried tarragon, or add leaves of fresh tarragon. Place shrimp on mushrooms, fixing in place with toothpicks. Add freshly cracked pepper.
Place plank in oven and broil for 3 – 5 minutes.

If you make more than a few of these, your guests will not have room for dinner. They are addicting. They’d be terrific prepared on a grill, too, and would pair beautifully with hot sake.

Scallop and Shrimp Chawan Mushi with Smoked Quail Eggs

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Chawan mushi combines two of my favorite things: custard and an element of pleasant surprise. Although the custards served to me (mostly by my grandmother) in my youth were invariably sweet, it was love at first spoonful when I had my first taste of chawan mushi in a Tokyo restaurant. On that occasion, I would have been happy just to enjoy the small ramekin of savory soupy custard that came with my meal. But when one of those spoonfuls revealed a sweet shrimp, and another a tender boiled quail egg, I was full-blown, head-over-heals gone.

Japanese diners seem to think of chawan mushi more as a soup than a custard, and I have to admit that over time, I have come to prefer this dish fairly loosely set. In addition to fresh, grilled or smoked seafood (a bit of smoked salmon makes a nice finishing piece), fresh vegetables such as peas, butter beans, lotus root or mushrooms, or a tender piece of salty grilled chicken, beef or wild game all work well. Creative cooks may want to experiment with the basic dashi recipe or substitute chicken or beef broth. A pinch of smoked sea salt adds another dimension to this versatile dish which can be served hot to take the chill of a winter evening or refreshingly cold on a warm summer day.

Below are the directions for Scallop and Shrimp Chawan Mushi with Smoked Quail Eggs – with much appreciation to a Japanese friend who mailed us a package of smoked quail eggs, thus inspiring this dish. By the way, chawan means tea cup; mushi means steaming.

The Watercourse, a signed and numbered giclée by Whitehorse, Yukon Territory artist Nathalie Parenteau serves as the backdrop for this All-Clad poacher. With its raised tray, it’s perfect for steaming chawan mushi either in an oven or on a stove top. In the past, I’ve improvised with a large round kettle fitted with an inverted shallow wicker basket. The same kettle also works with an inverted metal strainer that happens to fit.

Jack’s Dashi

Ingredients

2 cups water
sheet of dried kombu (Japanese kelp) about 4″ x 4″ (about 5 grams)
1 teaspoon “Better than Bouillon Lobster Base” (or make traditional dashi with 1/4 cup dried bonito flakes)

Directions

Add two cups of water and the kombu to a pan. Heat over medium heat.
Just before the water boils, remove the kombu. Turn off heat and stir in the lobster base bouillon.
Strain through cheese cloth or fine-mesh strainer to remove stray pieces of kombu (or bonito flakes, if those are used). The lobster bouillon base will create a slightly darker dashi than bonito flakes. In the finished chawan mushi, this will create an attractive cream color.
Set aside to cool.

Scallop and Shrimp Chawan Mushi with Smoked Quail Eggs

Ingredients

6 small ramekins, preferably with loosely fitted lids. Plastic wrap with a small puncture (to allow steam to escape) can be used to cover the ramekins if lids are not available.
2 cups dashi (see recipe above)
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon soy sauce
6 sea scallops
6 sweet shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed (Alaskan shrimp are similar to the ama-ebi of Japan and are perfect for this dish)
6 smoked quail eggs
(optional) sea salt to taste
(optional) 2 tablespoons good sake

Directions

In a bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Make sure dashi is cool (so it won’t cook the eggs) and stir into egg mixture. Add soy sauce (and sake, optional) and mix together, but avoid mixing so vigorously that foam is created. Taste for appropriate saltiness. If more salt is desired, use sea salt. Set mixture aside.
Slice scallops depth-wise into three or four parts. Place scallops and 1 shrimp each into the ramekins.
If there are bubbles or foam on the egg and dashi mixture, use a spoon to remove. The finished chawan mushi should be smooth. Cover the scallops and shrimp with the egg and dashi mixture so that ramekins are about 2/3 full. Cover each ramekin with a loosely fitting lid or punctured piece of plastic wrap.
Arrange the covered ramekins in a steamer and gently steam for 12 minutes, until mixture is loosely set.
Turn off heat. Place a smoked quail egg atop each chawan mushi, cover with lids again, and keep them in the steaming pan so that the custard continues to set and the egg warms through – approximately 3 – 5 additional minutes.

This dish makes a delicious appetizer, can be served as one would serve a soup, or as part of the main meal. It will keep nicely in the refrigerator for a day or two. Our village in bush Alaska is dry, so sake is not an option. But I highly recommend you include it, as it really compliments the flavors of this dish – and pairs well as a drink served with the finished chawan mushi.