Ankimo

Liver de-veined, cured, rolled into a cylinder and steamed, then chilled before slicing.

Fish. Not vegetarian — contains fish.

Ingredients

500 g monkfish liver
2 tablespoons salt, for curing
200 ml sake
4 tablespoons ponzu
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon grated daikon
0.5 teaspoon shichimi

Method

ROLLED INTO A CYLINDER AND STEAMED, which is the whole technique and the only shape it will slice in. Steamed loose it collapses into a paste; rolled tight in muslin it sets into something that cuts cleanly, and that is why it is always served in rounds.
DE-VEIN IT FIRST AND DO NOT RUSH IT. Open the lobes along their natural seams and pull out every vein and membrane with the point of a knife. They do not soften and a vein left in is a tough thread through every slice.
Rub with the salt and leave 20 minutes, then rinse. It firms the liver enough to handle.
Soak in the sake 30 minutes. It takes out the last of the blood and the iron edge that goes with it.
Pat completely dry.
Lay the pieces on muslin in a line, overlapping slightly, and roll up TIGHTLY, twisting both ends like a sweet wrapper and tying them. Squeeze along the roll as you go to drive out air pockets -- they become holes.
Prick the cloth in a few places with a skewer so steam and liquid can escape.
STEAM 25 to 30 MINUTES over a moderate heat. Too fierce and the fat renders out and the roll shrinks to half its width.
CHILL IT IN THE CLOTH, at least 4 hours and better overnight. Sliced warm it smears on the knife; cold it cuts into clean discs.
Unwrap, slice 1 cm thick with a wet blade, and serve cold with ponzu, grated daikon, spring onion and shichimi.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Japan · All recipes