After perusing the menu, I noticed something I'd seen on several menus (especially sushi bars), but never actually eaten: hamachi crudo. I usually stick to tuna or salmon when eating raw fish, so I was curious to find out what the Sound Table did with a dish like this. I knew that crudo referred to a raw preparation, but past that, I wasn't sure what to expect. Their version was listed as being prepared with "sichimi togarashi, habanero sesame oil, pineapple." That was enough to sell me, so I ordered.
My first bite was really tasty - the hamachi had an extremely mild but slightly buttery flavor, and the togarashi sprinkled lightly on top definitely brought some spice. As far as raw fish goes, it was some of the better stuff I've had in quite awhile, and slightly reminiscent of tuna. However, I couldn't quite detect the habanero sesame oil, and the liquid covering the bottom of the dish definitely tasted like soy sauce to me. Maybe it was mixed with the soy, but no big deal - it was still good. If you like Asian flavors and/or raw fish, give this one a try on your next trip to the Sound Table.
After getting home and doing some research, I learned that crudo is used to describe a raw fish dish in Italian cuisine. I'm not sure why the ST's version leaned more to the Asian side considering that, but I'm glad I tried anyway.
Actually it looks like a typical Peruvian take on sashimi. "Tiradito". You see, There's a large Japanese population in Peru, and they were rather shocked by the idea of ceviche - marinated fish cubes in a citrus-based sauce. basically the acid "cooks" the fish without heat. To the Japanese, taking a perfectly good fish and attacking it with such overwhelming ingredients was pointless. So what you had is basically a marriage between ceviche and sashimi. I'm not sure why they called it "Crudo", when the proper name for it is "Tiradito".
ReplyDeleteInteresting - thanks for the info!
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