Had a great chat yesterday with Craig Bohm, Sustainable
Fisheries/Threatened Species Campaigner at the Brisbane-based
Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS). Was talking to him in
relation to a short piece I’m writing for work but our
conversation strayed into territory unrelated to the article and he
confirmed some facts about fish that I knew, but was pretending not to
know, would prefer not to know.
Eating ethically requires a strength of character that I wonder if I
have. I like fish. I like seafood. I adore bluefin tuna belly (toro),
love salmon and ocean trout, and probably any number of other
species that should be left alone.
I asked Craig about salmon. In Australia, and probably in most other
western countries, consumption of salmon — sea-cage aquaculture salmon
— just keeps growing. Yet, the AMCS's Sustainable Seafood Guide tells me
that we should avoid eating it.
For two reasons: first, the potential for environmental problems caused
by escapee fish; second, the salmon are carnivorous, hungry things and
eat massive volumes of wild fish. Apparently, there have been 20,000
lost fish from these sea-cage aquaculture properties since 2000. Those
fish can form their own populations in the ocean, transfer diseases,
become predators of wild fish, and cause displacement of other fish
species, which previously might have lived happily in their natural
environments. If it seems a remote possibility that farmed salmon could
establish itself in the wild to such a degree, Craig offers the example
of foxes, an introduced species in Australia that has caused any number
of problems. It took three separate incidents of
introduction in Tasmania before the species firmly established itself.
Then, as if I’m not feeling uncomfortable enough about my occasional
salmon purchases, Craig tells me all about what farmed salmon eat. They
like to eat other fish — pilchards and other small fish that’s turned
into fishmeal. According to Craig, to produce one kilogram of farmed
salmon can take between one and four kilograms of wild-caught fish.
Then he raises the subject of the other carnivorous fish that can be farmed, and so present similar problems – ocean trout, barramundi … and
yellowtail kingfish.
Nobu Inspiration
I didn’t tell Craig that, only two days before our conversation, I’d
pulled the hefty bones out of fillets of yellowtail kingfish on my
kitchen bench and then dunked them in a marinade of sake, mirin, white
miso paste and sugar.
A post on Rasa Malaysia had reminded me of Nobu's signature black cod dish
and, with Nobu opening its first Australian restaurant in Melbourne
last month, it seemed like a good time to try the recipe (it also fits
my criteria for Elegant Light dishes). Black cod – any sort of cod –
isn’t something I see where I buy fish and an expert had suggested to me
that kingfish might be a good substitute. I liked the result (see below), but it was certainly dryer than I expect fish to be.
Then I called Nobu Melbourne chef Scott Hallsworth and it became apparent that yellowtail kingfish really isn't the best substitute for black cod (he gets his black cod flown in from Japan). Far better, he mused would be Patagonian toothfish. Or salmon. So I'm back to square one. Of course, you're supping with the devil if you eat Patagonian toothfish, which is threatened by illegal overfishing and definitely not on the Australian Marine Conservation Society's list of approved fish.
But, if my conscience stops me from trying the Nobu recipe with salmon, there is one sliver of light and hope: Scott Hallsworth tells me that it's a fabulous technique to use with Wagyu beef.
Nobu-style Kingfish
(Serves 2; needs to be marinated for at least 24 hours before cooking)
2 yellowtail kingfish fillets
1/4 cup sake
1/2 cup mirin
2/3 cup white miso paste
1/2 cup caster sugar
Green onions to finish or, if you can be bothered, 2 stalks hajikami
To make the marinade, bring the sake and mirin to a boil in a medium
saucepan over high heat. Boil for 20 seconds to evaporate the alcohol.
Turn the heat down to low and add the miso paste, mixing with a wooden
spoon. When the miso has dissolved completely, turn the heat up to high
again and add the sugar, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon to
ensure that the bottom of the pan doesn't burn. Remove from heat once
the sugar is fully dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Set aside a
small amount of the marinade for serving.
Pat the fillets thoroughly dry with paper towels and remove any bones
(they should be large and simple to tug out: tweezers help). Slather
the fish with the marinade and place in a non-reactive dish or bowl.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave to steep in the refrigerator for
a minimum of 24 hours – two days is better.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Lightly wipe off any excess miso
clinging to the fillets but don't rinse it off. Heat a non-stick frying
pan and fry the fillets until the surface of the fish turns brown.
(They will burn very easily, so keep a close watch on it.) Transfer the
fish to the oven either in the frying pan or to a baking dish. Bake for
10 to 15 minutes.
Arrange the black cod fillets on individual plates and garnish with
sliced green onions. Add a few extra drops of warmed marinade to each
plate.
