Splendid alfonsino (kinmedai) ✦ ◆

Béryx long (kinmedai)

What it is

Despite the -dai in its name it is no bream at all: the alfonsinos are a family of their own, hanging between four and six hundred metres down where their gold-backed eyes gather what light is left. The scarlet skin that sells the fish is camouflage — at that depth red reflects nothing and the animal reads as black.

In the kitchen

Never skin it: for sashimi pour boiling water over the skin side and drop it straight into iced water, which softens the scales without cooking the flesh beneath. Simmered, keep the liquid at a bare tremble — above a real boil the fat renders out and the flesh turns cottony.

Goes with

Hon-mirin Koikuchi shoyu Ginger Kombu Daikon Spring onion Junmai sake

In season alongside

Arctic char Crayfish Skate wing Albacore Northern sweet shrimp American lobster

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