Name: Belon’s shima aji with pomelo and avocado
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 250 gm piece of sashimi-grade kingfish; 1 sheet kombu (about 15cm x 20cm), thin enough to wrap around kingfish (see note); 1/8 pomelo, peeled and segmented.; 1 ripe avocado, cut into 5mm slices; 5 gm (1cm piece) bottarga (see note); 1 tbsp finely chopped chives; Tosazu sauce; 5 gm (12cm square) kombu; 20 gm bonito flakes (katsuobushi; see note) (1 cup firmly packed); 1½ tsp white soy sauce (see note for gnocchi, at left); 1½ tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tsp dark muscovado sugar; 2 tsp mirin

Belon’s shima aji with pomelo and avocado

At Belon Henry uses shima aji (horse mackerel), which isn't readily available in Australia; we've used kingfish here. It's a delicious, fresh substitute.

Serves 4

Prep

30M

Cook

Total

35M

“James Henry’s Belon is my new must-visit when in Hong Kong. Would you ask for the shima aji with pomelo and avocado recipe so I can make it back in Australia?”

Jean Danes, Darwin, NT

Ingredients

250 gm piece of sashimi-grade kingfish

1 sheet kombu (about 15cm x 20cm), thin enough to wrap around kingfish (see note)

1/8 pomelo, peeled and segmented.

1 ripe avocado, cut into 5mm slices

5 gm (1cm piece) bottarga (see note)

1 tbsp finely chopped chives

Tosazu sauce

5 gm (12cm square) kombu

20 gm bonito flakes (katsuobushi; see note) (1 cup firmly packed)

1½ tsp white soy sauce (see note for gnocchi, at left)

1½ tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp dark muscovado sugar

2 tsp mirin

Method

Main

1.Wrap kingfish in kombu then plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 4 hours to lightly cure.

2.For tosazu sauce, bring kombu and 300ml water to just under a simmer in a small saucepan (3-5 minutes), then remove kombu. Add bonito flakes, white soy, vinegar and sugar, bring to the boil, simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Add mirin, strain through a fine sieve and set aside to cool (15-20 minutes).

3.Separate pomelo segments into beads.

4.Unwrap fish and thinly slice (about 5mm-thick) with a very sharp knife. Arrange on plates with avocado and dress with 2-3 tsp tosazu sauce, scatter with pomelo beads, bottarga finely grated on a Microplane and chives.

Large thin sheets of kombu are hard to find; use smaller squares if they’re unavailable. Kombu and bonito flakes are available from Japanese grocers and Asian supermarkets. Bottarga, or sea mullet roe, is available from select fishmongers. At Belon Henry uses shima aji (horse mackerel), which isn’t readily available in Australia; we’ve used kingfish here. He also makes a jelly from fish bones.
Notes

The Gourmet Traveller Team

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Styling by Nick Banbury