January 15, 2010

Salt-Grilled Buri Kama (Yellowtail Collar)/ぶりかまの塩焼き

As I mentioned in a previous post, I bought a pack of buri ara (yellowtail trimmings) on Jan. 11.
前に述べたように、1月11日にブリのアラを1パック買いました。

Whenever I see packs of buri ara or kanpachi ara sold at the supermarket I frequent, I am tempted to buy one because I really like it and because it is cheap! And, I actually almost always buy one pack even when I have already decided what to make for supper that evening.
I usually put meat and fish in the hikari (optical) partial freezing compartment of the fridge:
よく行くスーパーでブリのアラやカンパチのアラが売っていると、好きだし、安いので、買いたくなってしまいます。実際、その日の夕飯に何を作るか決まっていても、必ずと言っていいほど、買ってしまいます。
普通、肉や魚は冷蔵庫の光パーシャル冷凍室に入れています。

This compartment has a UV LED at the top:
この冷凍室には上にUV LEDがついています。

The manufacturer says that the compartment is kept at -2C, at which protein-degrading enzymes can be active, instead of -3C, at which they are not, so that the proteins in meat and fish can be decomposed into amino acids, while the UV LED prevents the growth of bacteria. I have yet to confirm the benefit of optical partial freezing, but I DO like this compartment because once I put packs of meat and fish in it, I don't have to worry much about their expiration dates and I can use them when I want to use them without spending much time on thawing.
メーカによれば、このパーシャル室はタンパク質分解酵素が活動できる-2C(活動できない-3Cではなく)に保たれているので、肉や魚のたんぱく質がアミノ酸に分解され、またUV LEDが細菌の繁殖を防ぐそうです。まだ光パーシャル冷凍の効果は確認していませんが、このパーシャル室は好きです。肉や魚のパックをここに入れれば、消費期限をあまり気にしなくていいし、使いたい時に、解凍にあまり時間をかけずに使えるからです。
Last night, I sprinkled and rubbed the kama and another part of buri with a teaspoon of salt (2% of the weight of the kama and the other part), and put them in the fridge.
This morning, I wiped the salt and moisture from the surface.
First I grilled the non-kama part in the toaster oven for 6 min.
昨晩、かまと他の部分に塩を小さじ1(かまと他の部分の重さの2%)振って、揉んで、冷蔵庫に入れました。
今朝、表面の塩と水分を拭きました。
まず、かまではない部分をオーブントースターで6分焼きました。

Then I grilled the kama for 10 min.

SO GOOD! I love buri kama (and kanpachi kama)!
すごく美味しいです。ぶりかま(それに、かんぱちかま)は大好きです!

6 comments:

Mama said...

That looks delicious. I love kama!

Hiroyuki said...

It is delicious! Kama with a right amount of salt, and I'm in heaven!

Yangsze said...

I'm so impressed with your fridge! I've never seen a drawer like that before but it's perfect for fish and meat. When you say that it doesn't prevent amino acids from forming, does it mean that the fish will become more tasty? What is the time limit that you can keep meat in there before it spoils?

Hiroyuki said...

YSC: While optical partial freezing is an invention of National (now Panasonic), partial freezing is nothing new. Another feature of my fridge that I really like is that the refregerating compartment is at the top of the fridge and the freezer compartment, larger than conventional ones, is at the bottom.
The manufacturer claims that meat and fish will become tastier because of increases in amino acids (= umami), but I think it's impossible to tell the difference unless you make a careful side-by-side comparison.
The manufacturer says that the food can be stored in the optical partial freezing compartment twice as long as in the refrigerating compartment, but I actually can keep meat and fish much, much longer (two weeks or even longer), without a problem.

David said...

When you grill fish in the toaster oven, do you have to turn the fish over at some point during the cooking time? Your dishes always look so delicious!

Hiroyuki said...

David: No, you don't have to turn over the fish, because there are heating elements are both at the top and bottom, and it is one of the great features of toaster oven. I don't know why most Japanese keep using a pre-installed fish grill or an expensive (around 5,000 to 10,000 yen or even higher) electric fish grill when you can buy a cheap (around 2,000 to 3,000 yen) toaster oven. Another feature of a toaster oven is that it does not require pre-heating, unlike an oven.
Anyway, I like toaster ovens, and I can't live (cook) without one!