Seared Ahi with Crispy Rice Cakes

Last night for dinner I felt like being creative. When I started, I didn't know what I was going to end up with. I began by throwing some sushi rice rice cooker, I didn't know why but I thought I might end up using it. I ended up with this amazing dish, here's how.

For "sauce"
2 shallots, minced
1T dashi miso (already has the bonito, etc in it)
1T grated ginger
1T soy sauce
juice of 1 lemon
2T rice wine vinegar
1/4c. sake

Put this all into a small pan, bring to a boil, and let it reduce slightly. Stir in a handful of chopped parsley and cilantro. Set aside.

I took two gorgeous pieces of fish, one piece of ahi and one piece of hamachi, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and seared them over high heat.

While those were searing, I grabbed a couple of scoops of the sushi rice out of the rice cooker. I mixed with that about a tablespoon of Nori Komi Furikaki rice seasoning. All it is is a mixture of sesame seed, salt, sugar, and seaweed and I love it! I got my hands wet so the rice wouldn't stick and formed thin patties of rice and laid them, carefully, in a pan with about 1/4 inch a very hot olive oil. Don't move them! when you can see that they're very brown around the edges, then carefully flip them over to brown the other side. When crispy, remove the rice cakes and place them on a plate with paper towels to drain off the oil.

I assembled all this on the plate topping the crispy rice cakes with micro arugula greens that had just a hint of rice vinegar on them. Sliced the ahi and hamachi and topped with the sauce and then made a little side of cucumber sunomono salad (thinly sliced cucumber with some seasoned rice vinegar).

I thought this turned out amazingly well. My husband couldn't stop raving about it all night! Let me know if it works for you too!