Dolphin Island MasterClass recipe

This delicious recipe was presented by Michel Louws as part of the MasterChef Masterclass presented on Dolphin Island recently.

Dolphin Island Brown Rice and Fresh Fish Salad

Serves 4

Brown rice :

1 cup brown rice 
2 cups water

Brown rice dressing:

100g sweet soy sauce
30g soy sauce
5ml sesame oil
50g sushi seasoning
30ml lemon juice
Zest of ½ lemon
Red chilli, finely chopped, to taste
20g ginger, finely grated
5 coriander roots, cleaned, finely chopped

Wasabi mayonnaise:

75g mayonnaise
15g wasabi paste

Crab:

1 large mud crab
2 pieces dried pickled mango

Sweet and sour pickling liquid:

50g caster sugar
170ml white wine vinegar
1g white pepper
200ml water
10 lime leaves

Fish:

200g coral trout or any fresh fish available
200g tuna loin or any fresh fish available
Shichimi powder (Japanese 7 flavour chilli powder)

Vegetables:

Small piece of pumpkin, peeled, very thinly sliced
¼ carrot, peeled, thinly sliced in discs
3 green beans, cut into small pieces
2 cos lettuce leaves, torn into small pieces
¼ telegraph cucumber, peeled, finely cubed

Vegetable dressing:

50g sushi seasoning
50g mandarin oil

Garnish:

3 cherry tomatoes, peeled, cut in half
4 black garlic cloves, cut in half
6 small slices pickled ginger
2 tsp mixed black and white sesame seeds, toasted
¼ sheet nori, toasted, torn into small pieces
1 tbsp bonito flakes
Coriander leaves, picked

Method:

To cook the brown rice, put the brown rice water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. When the water starts to boil, turn heat down to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed and there is no water standing at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5-10 minutes then uncover and allow to cool.
Combine the ingredients for the brown rice dressing and mix well. Leave to stand for 30 minutes to infuse then pass. Dress the rice with the dressing just before you start to assemble the dish.
To make the wasabi mayonnaise, combine the mayonnaise and wasabi and mix well. Set aside.
To cook the crab, place the dried mango in a saucepan of well salted water and bring to the boil. Place the crab in the water and cook for 3-5 minutes, depending on the size, until just cooked through. Remove from the boiling water and plunge into iced water to refresh. Remove the shell and use the pointed end of a teaspoon to pick the crab meat from the shell. Set aside.
To make the sweet and sour pickling liquid, place all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat. Add sliced carrot and pumpkin, leave to cool.
To make the vegetable dressing, whisk together the sushi seasoning and mandarin oil.
To prepare the fish, sprinkle each fillet with salt and shichimi. Heat a large frying pan over high heat and sear the fish on all sides for about 30 seconds until coloured. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To serve, place the dressed rice in the base of a large serving dish. Slice the fish into bite sized pieces and place around the rice. Place the crab meat around the dish. Dress the beans, cos lettuce and cucumber vegetables with vegetable dressing and season with salt. Place around the plate. Finish with the remaining garnish.

Tips:

Be sure to use clean hands to check through the crab meat for shell fragments.
The brown rice can be cooked in a rice cooker.
To peel the cherry tomatoes, make a tiny nick in the base of each tomato, drop into boiling water for a few seconds then plunge into iced water. The skins should slip right off.