Chewy and Fresh Wild Red Sea Bream ‘Yubiki’ Sashimi
Enjoy High-Class Japanese Style Sashimi at Home! Detailed Recipe for Wild Red Sea Bream ‘Yubiki’
Looking for a special gift for your parents this Parent’s Day? Ruby has purchased fresh, wild red sea bream directly from a seafood supplier at an incredibly low price. She’ll guide you through making delicious ‘Yubiki’ style sashimi at home, which is comparable to what you’d find in a high-end Japanese restaurant. Learn how to slice fresh sea bream thickly to enjoy its chewy texture and deep flavor from the comfort of your own kitchen!
Main Ingredients- Fresh Wild Red Sea Bream, 2.5-3 kg
- Spicy Red Chili Paste Sauce (Cho Gochujang), to taste
- Wasabi Soy Sauce, to taste
- Boiling Water, a little (for Yubiki)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Freshly prepared wild red sea bream weighing 5kg, processed this morning, has arrived via express delivery! Although it arrived a day after shipping, I picked it up directly from the terminal the same day it was processed, ensuring its peak freshness. 5kg is a generous amount for 8 people. Along with 4 neatly packaged fillets for sashimi, it also included the sea bream’s head, perfect for grilling, and its innards and body, ideal for making soup – it was truly a whole sea bream!
Step 2
The sea bream head was cut in half! It’s an exquisite delicacy when grilled. (Though it might look a bit intimidating!)
Step 3
They even included the parts for soup. Buying seafood directly like this is such a great option these days. I ordered from the Naver cafe ‘Mokpo Dae Kyung Seafood’ this time, and it was incredibly affordable and fresh.
Step 4
Shall we take a closer look at the sashimi-grade fish? Everything was already prepared, so all that’s left is slicing. Two of the fillets were sent with the skin on, so we can prepare them ‘Yubiki’ style.
Step 5
The other two fillets, as you can see, have had their skin removed, leaving just the pure flesh. The removed skin was also packed separately. Did you know that lightly blanching sea bream skin makes it wonderfully delicious and chewy?
Step 6
I purchased this thick, 5kg wild red sea bream for around 60,000 won, including delivery! That comes out to just over 10,000 won per kilogram, which feels like a fantastic deal.
Step 7
Now, let’s get to slicing the sashimi. It’s not difficult since it’s already been prepared. This sea bream is ‘seono’ (aged fish stored at low temperatures) rather than ‘hwaleo’ (live fish), so slicing it a bit thicker than usual sashimi will bring out its best flavor. While typical sushi restaurants handle live fish from tanks, high-end Japanese restaurants often serve ‘seono’ sashimi.
Step 8
For the fillet with the skin on, we’ll prepare it using the ‘Yubiki’ method, common in Japanese restaurants. Place the fillet on a cutting board, and using a kettle filled with boiling water, carefully pour the hot water only over the skin side. Once the skin is lightly cooked, immediately plunge it into ice water to cool it down quickly. This process makes the skin delightfully firm and chewy.
Step 9
Finally, we’re ready to eat! Even after slicing just two fillets, the portion size is enormous. I sliced them quite thickly, and there are still two more fillets chilling in the kimchi refrigerator!
Step 10
Look at the vibrant color of the sashimi. You can truly see its freshness! It feels amazing to enjoy a visual feast comparable to a high-end Japanese restaurant, right in my own home. I also thinly sliced the separately provided sea bream skin after briefly blanching it in hot water and then cooling it in ice water.
Step 11
Wow! Just looking at these photos makes my mouth water, doesn’t it? The chewy sea bream skin is absolutely divine! It has a wonderfully springy texture that melts in your mouth, and there’s no fishy odor at all.
Step 12
I enjoyed the thick slices of wild red sea bream in various ways: dipping them lightly into wasabi soy sauce, or giving them a generous dip in the sweet and spicy ‘cho gochujang’ sauce!
Step 13
Another delightful way to enjoy it is by making a wrap with a perilla leaf, placing a thick slice of sea bream and a clove of raw garlic inside. We all ate until we were completely stuffed, enjoying this feast with the whole family.
Step 14
As May is a month of gratitude, why not prepare a delicious sea bream sashimi for your parents and the whole family? For about one-third of the cost of dining out, you can enjoy a much more abundant and satisfying meal. It’s far more rewarding than eating out!
Step 15
I usually buy my fish from this place (‘Mokpo Dae Kyung Seafood’ Naver cafe). They seem to have every kind of seafood imaginable. With just a simple membership registration, you can receive incredibly fresh seafood directly at very affordable prices. I definitely wanted to share this great information with you all! Hahaha
