Sea Bream Rice : Tai Meishi
Sea Bream Rice, known as Tai Meishi, is a dish that encapsulates the essence of Setouchi cuisine. This iconic dish is a testament to the region's cooking style, which emphasizes simple yet essential ingredients, a naturally flavorful cooking method, and a subtly rich yet deeply satisfying taste. The centerpiece of the dish is Red Sea Bream, regarded as the "King of Fish," which is steamed to perfection on a bed of rice that is infused with mildly sweet and umami-rich vegetables. As the fish steams, its juices blend along with a piece of dried konbu seaweed in the pot to create a delectable dashi stock that seasons the rice below. To finish the dish, the sea bream is carefully carved up and mixed into the rice, providing a harmonious balance of protein, carbohydrates, and nutrient-rich vegetables.
Despite its impressive presentation and irresistible flavor, Tai Meishi is surprisingly easy to make at home. This dish is a shining example of how simple ingredients, when prepared with care and attention, can rise to the level of high cuisine. Tai Meishi's name is rarely translated, much like other iconic dishes such as Paella, Biryani, and Bibimbap, a reflection of its cultural significance and enduring popularity.
Sea Bream Rice
Tai Meishi : 鯛飯
Serves 4-6
Main Foods
Whole Red Sea Bream, about 1 lb., 8-10” long (450 g, 20-25 cm)
Carrot, 1/2 (40 g)
Shimeji Mushrooms, 1 bunch (40 g)
Abura-Age (Deep-Fried Tofu Skin), 1 sheet
Short-Grain Rice, 2 1/2 cups (600 cc)
Seasonings
Konbu (Dried Kelp), 2 x 4” piece (5 x 10 cm)
Sake, 2 tablespoons
Mirin, 1 tablespoon
Moshio Seaweed Salt or Sea Salt, 2 teaspoons
Usukuchi Soy Sauce, 2 tablespoons
Aromatics / Flavorings
Fresh Ginger, knob (10 g)
Mitsuba, large handful
Directions
To prepare the rice, start by washing it thoroughly. Place the rice into a large bowl and fill it with cold water. Swish the rice around with your hand, then drain the water by tipping the bowl over and holding the rice in place with your hand. Repeat this process 3-6 times or until the water runs clear. Drain the rice in a colander for 20-30 minutes.
Next, prepare the vegetables. Peel and cut the carrot into matchsticks, clean and dice the shimeji mushrooms, and run the abura-age under hot water to remove excess oil. Gently squeeze it dry, cut it in half length-wise, then slice each half into strips. and slice into strips. Cut the ginger into thin julienne strips. Rinse and dry the mitsuba.
Place the washed rice in a donabe pot or similar heat-proof dish. In a measuring cup, combine the sake, mirin, 1 teaspoon of salt, usukuchi soy sauce, and enough water to make 2 1/2 cups (600 ml). Pour the mixture over the rice and stir. Add the vegetables to the pot and mix well. Lay the dried konbu seaweed on top of the rice in a line across the middle and let it soak for 30 minutes.
While the konbu is soaking, prepare the fish. Have your fish monger remove the scales and gut the sea bream or do it yourself. Rinse the sea bream under cold water and rub 1 teaspoon of sea salt over both sides of the fish, being careful of the sharp bones in its top and bottom fins. Rub some salt inside the belly as well. Cut off the tail if it won’t fit in the pot. Let rest for 20 minutes, then wipe off the sweat that forms on the fish with kitchen paper.
Next, sear the fish with high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side to lock in its texture and heighten its flavor. You can do this using a broiler, toaster oven, charcoal fire, or kitchen torch. Char the fish in places without cooking it through.
Place the fish on top of the konbu. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 12-14 minutes, for a total cooking time of about 15 minutes. Set a timer for 15 minutes when you start the cooking. Turn off the heat and let it continue to steam for 10 minutes.
Serve
Present the dish on the table and let your guests admire it before returning to the kitchen to debone the fish. Remove all the bones and scrape off the flesh, especially the flavorful bits in the face and neck.
To serve, add the fish to the rice and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle the julienned ginger on top and place a bunch of mitsuba in the center. Reserve some ginger and mitsuba for your guests to garnish their individual bowls according to their taste.
Don't forget to serve the slightly burned rice scraped up from the bottom of the pot separately. Known as "o-koge," it is a delicacy cherished for its deep flavor and crunchy texture.
Variations
Customization is a key aspect of home cooking, with each cook making their own unique adjustments. Here are some of the most common variations:
For a chewier texture, try using a mixture of 2 cups of short-grain rice and 1/2 cup of mochi (sticky) rice.
Instead of shimeji mushrooms, some cooks use yurine (lily bulb,) breaking and cutting large ones into pieces.
Edamame beans can be used instead of abura-age. First, boil them in salted water until tender, remove their outer skin, and mix them into the rice at the end. Alternatively, pre-cooked frozen beans can be used.
For a heartier taste, try using a mixture of 1 tablespoon of usukuchi soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of regular soy sauce.
The cooked konbu seaweed can be chopped and added to the rice along with the cooked flaked pieces of fish.
Instead of mitsuba, try using kinome sansho leaves, mizuna, flat-leaved parsley, watercress, or chopped green onions as a garnish.
Substituting Red Sea Bream
Other varieties of sea bream, red snapper, and alfonsino are the closest substitutes to red sea bream, sharing its mild, slightly sweet flavor, delicate flesh, and size and appearance. Sea bass, which is also often cooked whole, is also a good alternative.
Made With Fillets Instead of Whole Fish
Instead of using a whole fish, you can use 4 fillets weighing around 1 lb. (450 g) in total. Rinse and salt the fillets, then grill or pan-fry them in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil until browned and charred on both sides, starting with the skin side. Skip the dried konbu seaweed and replace the water with prepared dashi stock, adding it to the measuring cup of seasonings to make a total of 2 1/2 cups (600 ml). Place the fillets on top of the rice and steam.
A hybrid alternative is to ask your fishmonger to fillet a whole fish for you, reserving the head, fins, and bones with which you can make Fish Bone Stock : Ara Dashi and use this as the stock.