Use fried, nori-wrapped fish as steppingstone to sushi

As a child, I ate sheets of teriyaki-flavored nori by the dozens. Green flecks lived in my teeth. I’d try to get non-Japanese friends to eat some, but I think they assumed I was crazy to eat stuff that was considered fish food. I couldn’t understand why they didn’t like raw eggs mixed with shoyu and rice, what they found weird about fishcake, or why they assumed chopstick wielding was wizardry.

In my lifetime, I’ve seen sushi change from strange ethnic fare to everyday cuisine, and now, even gas stations sell raw fish among lowly, mass-produced snack foods — just more evidence of our amazing global food market.

It’s true that there’s an overabundance of California rolls on the sushi-go-round, and I laughed when I read the buzz about the new "Spicy Tuna Roll Corn Dog," but I’m OK with the Americanized sushi for the most part. I’m glad to think that those kids, who thought of me as "that weird girl," grew up to love the same flavors I do.

Here’s my recipe for another riff on classic Japanese fare, the seaweed-wrapped, fish version of tonkatsu. I like to fry this as quickly as possible, so that the outside is crunchy but the middle is still tender and rare. If you were trying to persuade a friend to try raw fish, this would be a good recipe to start with.

KATSU AKU
4 strips aku (or ahi), 1-by-6-inch pieces
2 sheets nori (seaweed)
Vegetable oil
1 cup cornstarch
1 egg
1 cup panko
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cut seaweed in half horizontally. Lay the strips of fish on seaweed. Roll up and dab a little water on the end to seal. 

In deep pan on medium-high, heat 2 inches oil. Meanwhile, put cornstarch on large plate. Whisk egg in large, shallow bowl. Put panko in separate large, shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.

When oil is very hot but not smoking, place a piece of wrapped fish in the cornstarch, making sure it has a light coating. Shake off excess. Dip it in the egg, coating again, and then in the panko. Coat completely.

Place fish into oil and fry quickly, removing it as soon as it turns a golden brown, less than a minute. Repeat process with rest of fish. Place on paper-towel-lined plate until cool enough to touch.

Cut into slices with sharp knife. Serve immediately with rice or a lightly dressed (lemon, olive oil and salt) kale salad. Serves 4. 

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including rice or salad): 450 calories, 20 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 650 mg sodium, 44 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 19 g protein

Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at www.thelittlefoodie.com.

BY REQUEST: Betty Shimabukuro takes a break on the last week of the month. Her column returns next week.