Tai no Karamushi (Steamed Sea Bream Stuffed with Okara)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 130 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 14
About this dish
Tai no karamushi is a celebratory Kaga dish from Ishikawa.
Read more
Two whole sea bream are opened along the back and packed with okara cooked with bamboo shoot, burdock, carrot, wood ear mushrooms, ginkgo nuts, dashi, sugar, sake, and soy sauce. The fish are traditionally presented with their bellies facing each other, a substantial arrangement served at weddings and other festive tables. The vegetable and okara filling must be cooked until moist rather than wet, then cooled completely before it touches the raw fish. Steaming time changes with the size of the bream, so the thickest flesh and center of the stuffing determine when it is done. Each portion combines tender fish with savory-sweet okara that has absorbed the sea bream juices.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Heat
Soak 6 dried wood ear mushrooms in 200ml cold water for 20 minutes, remove the hard bases, and cut into fine strips.
Julienne 20g bamboo shoot, 80g burdock, and 20g carrot into 4cm strips. Boil 8 ginkgo nuts and peel their thin skins.
- 2Season
Scale 2 sea bream and remove the gills.
Open each fish along the back beside the dorsal fin, remove the guts and backbone, and rinse. Dissolve 30g salt in 1L cold water, brine the fish under refrigeration for 1 hour, then drain and dry thoroughly.
- 3Control
Put the bamboo shoot, burdock, carrot, and wood ear mushrooms in a wide pan and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
Add 200ml dashi, 6 tablespoons sugar, 4 tablespoons sake, 4 tablespoons soy sauce, and the remaining 1g salt. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- 4Heat
Add 300g fresh okara and the 8 ginkgo nuts.
Cook over medium-low for 8 to 10 minutes, scraping the pan. When no loose liquid remains and the okara holds together moistly, mix in 1 teaspoon hemp seeds, spread on a tray, and cool completely within 30 minutes.
- 5Step
Divide the cold okara filling between the back cavities of the 2 sea bream.
Do not pack it tightly; leave 1cm free at each opening so the filling can expand during steaming.
- 6Finish
Bring ample water to a boil in a steamer large enough for the fish.
Set the bream inside on heatproof plates, cover, and steam over medium-high for 40 to 50 minutes, checking that the steamer does not run dry.
- 7Step
Remove the fish when the thickest flesh reaches at least 63°C and the center of the okara filling reaches at least 74°C.
Rest 5 minutes, arrange the bream with their bellies facing, and portion fish and filling together while checking for bones.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Two whole sea bream opened and cleaned through the back
- Finish cue
- Remove the fish when the thickest flesh reaches at least 63°C and the center of the okara filling reaches at least 74°C.
- Avoid this
- Do not pack it tightly; leave 1cm free at each opening so the filling can expand during steaming.
- Storage and reheating
- Dissolve 30g salt in 1L cold water, brine the fish under refrigeration for 1 hour, then drain and dry thoroughly.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official food safety guidance.
This recipe
130min, 14 ingredients
Category median
48min, 8 ingredients
Based on 200 recipes
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