Simone Caponnetto's Recipe: Aged Beef & Eel Koji Nigiri. A Japanese Dish with a "Carnivorous" Twist Highlighting the Intense Flavors of Aging.
Recipe for 4 people
For the aged beef nigiri
- Aged beef
- 50 g of sushi rice
- 2 g of aspergillus oryzae spores
- 150 g of water
Method
- Gently boil the rice with a lid until the water is completely absorbed, without adding salt.
- Once the rice is cooked, let it cool to room temperature, then shape it into 20 g nigiri and inoculate with the spores.
- Allow it to ferment in a fermentation chamber with 80% humidity at a temperature of 28 degrees Celsius for 42 to 48 hours.
- Store at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.
For the smoked eel
- 1 smoked eel
Method
- Filet and clean the eel thoroughly, then smoke it in the Josper oven with straw and hay.
- Cut the eel into 5-gram pieces.
- Store the rest vacuum-sealed in the refrigerator.
For the teriyaki sauce
- 150 g of sugar
- 50 g of balsamic vinegar
- 150 ml of red wine
- 150 ml of Tuscan tamari soy sauce
- 5 drops of Tabasco sauce
- 50 ml of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 clove of garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 bunch of thyme
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 medium chili pepper
Method
- In a saucepan, combine sugar and aromatics, caramelize, and deglaze with all the liquids.
- Simmer for 5 minutes and let it cool to room temperature.
- Strain and store in the refrigerator.
For the fermented lemon
- Organic lemons
- Salt (21% of the lemons weight)
Method
- Make incisions on the lemons without cutting them completely, massage them, vacuum-seal them, and let them mature for at least 6 months at 40 degrees Celsius.
- Take the fermented lemon peels, blend them with a small percentage of the syrup that has formed, creating a smooth and uniform cream.
Plating
- Allow the fermented nigiri to come to serving temperature for at least 20 minutes.
- Place 2 grams of fermented lemon cream on the nigiri.
- Cut the eel, previously brushed with teriyaki sauce, into two small triangles, char it with hot charcoal, and place it on the nigiri.
- Cut a thin slice of beef, brush it with teriyaki sauce, char it well with hot charcoal, and cover the nigiri. Serve.
