Fish and tips

Fresh fish dishes from scale-to-tail champion, chef Josh Niland.

MATCH WITH

2021 Rosabrook Rosé, $26

Hailing from the premium Margaret River wine region, this savoury yet delicate style of rosé is pale pink in colour with lifted strawberry, fairy floss and floral aromas. The palate is delicate and vibrant with a crisp dry finish, which will gently accompany the tender freshness of the raw fish - making it the perfect flavour combination.

rosabrook.com.au

RAW KINGFISH BELLY AND FINGER LIME PONZU

SERVES 4-6

Use quality ingredients in the ponzu, as the fish is very much nude on the plate and shouldn’t be overwhelmed by an imbalance of flavours. Serve at room temperature so you can best experience the perfection of wild kingfish at the height of its season. You’ll want to start this recipe a day ahead. 400 g skinless, boneless kingfish belly fine salt

FINGER LIME PONZU

2 tbsp rice vinegar

½ cup mirin

7.5 cm square piece of kombu

15 g shaved bonito flakes

Zest of 1 lemon, fruit segmented and finely diced Zest of 1 lime, fruit segmented and finely diced Zest of 1 orange, fruit segmented and finely diced Zest of 1 yuzu and 1½ tbsp juice (otherwise use a pomelo or store-bought juice)

Zest and pearls of 3 finger limes

1½ tbsp lemon juice

½ tbsp lime juice

1½ tbsp orange juice

½ cup white soy sauce (or light soy)

To make the ponzu, combine the vinegar and mirin in a small saucepan and bring to approximately 80°C. Remove from the heat and add the kombu. Stir in the bonito flakes and citrus zest, then cover and allow to cool completely; ideally refrigerate overnight to allow the flavours to develop. The next day, strain the chilled liquid to remove all the solids. Combine the strained liquid with the citrus juice, soy and finger lime pearls. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. The sooner you use it the more floral and fragrant it will be.

To prepare the kingfish belly, start by removing the skin with a sharp knife. Place the fillet skin-side down with the tail facing you. Put the blade of the knife between the skin and flesh then, keeping the angle of the knife positioned down towards the skin, force the blade along the length of the skin working towards the head of the fillet. The objective here is to leave behind as much of the silver skin as possible, retaining the flavour and natural oils that lie within. Once the skin is removed, turn the fish so that it is silver skin-side up and cut it into thin slices. (Alternatively, ask your fishmonger to do this for you.) Stir the diced citrus segments into the ponzu dressing.

Arrange the fish slices neatly around a warm bowl that can support a generous spoonful of the ponzu dressing. When you spoon it over the kingfish you want there to be a good balance of citrus segments and pearls.