South American salmon sashimi

In an unlikely but strong love affair, the various countries in South America have embraced Japan’s most famous food, sushi, given it a bit of a Latin makeover and really made it their own.

This nutrient-packed dish has loads of potent flavours that complement the salmon, including Peruvian marinade leche de tigre (tiger’s milk).

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 portion of Nikkei leche de tigre (see end of recipe for how to make this)

2tbsp coriander oil

400g (14oz) sushi-grade salmon fillet, skinned

Maldon salt flakes, to garnish

Shichimi pepper, to garnish

For the jalapeno salsa:

½ large cucumber

1 red jalapeno chilli

1 avocado

½ banana shallot

30 coriander leaves, including some to garnish

A pinch of salt

1tbsp olive oil

1tbsp lime juice

Method

Firstly, preparing the Nikkei leche de tigre. (Scroll down for the recipe)

Next, prepare the jalapeno salsa. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and, using a teaspoon, scrape out the watery seeds and discard them. Dice the cucumber into 5mm cubes. Deseed and very finely dice the jalapeno chilli. Peel, remove the stone and dice the avocado into 5mm cubes. Peel the banana shallot and chop it very finely.

Place the coriander leaves one on top of the other (not forgetting to reserve a few leaves for garnishing), roll them as tightly as a cigar and slice very finely into hair-like strips.

In a bowl, place the diced cucumber, chilli, two-thirds of the cubed avocado (reserving one-third for garnishing), the finely sliced coriander and the chopped shallots.

Add the salt, olive oil and the lime juice, mixing gently as you go, then check for seasoning.

Take the salmon and slice off any residual brown meat from the skinned surface of the fillet.

Cut the salmon into fine slices – about 5mm thick and 5cm long. Divide

the salmon slices equally among four plates, positioning them side by side like a line of dominoes.

When all the salmon has been plated, spoon three tablespoons of Nikkei leche de tigre over and around the salmon on each plate. Spread the salsa in a straight line in the middle of the row of salmon slices from one end to the other. Scatter a few of the remaining avocado cubes and whole coriander leaves around the plate and over the salmon.

Drizzle a few dots of coriander oil over the fish and plate, finishing with a sprinkle of sea salt flakes and a dusting of shichimi pepper. Serve.

Nikkei Leche de Tigre

Ingredients (makes 250ml)

1 fresh scallop (without its coral), roughly diced (other white fish can also be used instead)

½tsp salt

1tsp sugar

1 garlic clove, crushed

1tsp minced root ginger

¼tsp instant dashi powder

100ml lime juice

½ red chilli, very finely diced

1–2tbsp ready-made Japanese mayonnaise

Method

Put all the ingredients except the red chilli and Japanese mayonnaise into a food processor bowl and blend until you get a white, frothy and smooth sauce. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

Pass the mixture through a sieve, pressing down to squeeze every bit of juice from the mixture into a bowl. Add the finely diced red chilli and the Japanese mayonnaise to the bowl and whisk until completely blended.

Check for seasoning, then chill until needed. This marinade will keep in an airtight container for up to eight hours in the fridge.

Recipe and image extracted from Nikkei Cuisine: Japanese Food the South American Way by Luiz Hara. Photography by Lisa Linder. Published by Jacqui Small (£25)