Salmon and Ikura Poke

Anyone that knows me, knows that I think that mainland poke is garbage. I’d like to see the trend of poke on the mainland come to an end especially after this train wreck from last year. In places like Chicago, the cost of sushi grade fish is high enough that all of these fast casual places only serve tiny portions of fish so I’d just feel ripped off from it. Then again, it’s easy to make so I occasionally make it for myself anyways.

Ikura is one of my favorite things to eat and I wanted to try and make some poke with it and this is my first attempt at this and I though it turned out pretty good!

One of the things that I do to the ikura is dashi washing it. I first heard of this technique from Morio who makes some of the best ikura nigiri ever. Been lucky enough to go a few times thanks to my oldest sister and her boyfriend who are regulars there. It’s likely that since Chicago is so land locked, the quality of ikura that I can find at a grocery store is still good, but sometimes a little dried. Though I’ve never had super high quality ikura here to have any of the sweet stuff, it tends to be more on the salty side. Besides having adding some dashi flavor, this technique can help offset some saltiness and help plump up the ikura again.

Dashi (makes about 1.5 quarts):
2 quarts of water
kombu, about 14 inches by 8 inches
4 handfuls of katsuobushi

In a large pot, add the water. Gently rinse the kombu or wipe with a damp cloth to clean off any dust. Add the kombu to the water and bring the water to a boil. When it comes to a boil, leave it for 1 minute and reduce the heat to a simmer. Remove the kombu and add the katsuobushi. Simmer for 15 minutes and strain. Let the dashi cool until it is room temperature.

You’ll only use a tiny amount, so the rest can be saved for whatever other use that you want.

I should have took a before/after picture, but this is the ikura after the dashi washing and I think it makes a difference.

Salmon and Ikura poke recipe:
1 lb salmon
1/3 lb ikura
1/4 c and 2 tbsp dashi
1 1/2 tsp shiro shoyu
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
salt, to taste
shiso

Cut the salmon into 1 in cubes. I like pretty large pieces of poke, but you can cut it to whatever size you like. In a bowl, combine salmon with shiro shoyu, sugar, sesame oil, and any salt to taste. Let this marinate for at least half an hour.

In the container that you bought the ikura in, add the 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp of dashi, or until the ikura is covered. *Optional to pick out any popped ikura skin. Leave the ikura in the dashi for about 15 minutes and taste until it is good. This all depends on how salty the ikura is on the day that you bought it. Once the ikura is ready, strain it and reserve the ikura dashi.

Combine the ikura into the bowl of marinated salmon and gently toss. Add about 3 tsp of the ikura dashi to make a light “sauce”. Gently toss to combine.

*Any remaining ikura dashi can be added to rice. Makes rice amazing.

Just before serving, thinly cut about 4 shiso leaves and mix into the poke.