Thursday, September 08, 2005

The Real Teriyaki

fish
The original 'teriyaki' that comes to my mind is a fish dish. There is hardly any sauce on it to speak of, and instead, the fish is basted while it grills as the word teriyaki (glazed grilled) implies. As with any grilled meat that requires basting, teriyaki dishes are a labor of love that requires attention and careful timing by the cook. The soy-based glaze has a hint of sweetness to it, but it's really nothing like the 'teriyaki' dishes in many Japanese restaurants in the US. Those dishes with hastily cooked meats coated in that thick, sweet sauce in the US are second generation dishes, adapted from the original for convenience. The American teriyaki is dynamic and often tasty in their own right, but sometimes, I crave the real teriyaki...

To nurse my craving, I can just head over to Kiss, but this weekend, I think I'll tackle the task myself, because...

I'm going fishing! I've actually never been fishing in my adult life, so it'll be an adventure for sure. My grandfather and my cousins were and still are avid fishermen, so maybe my fishing heritage will come out and I'll come home with tons to teriyaki!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good luck on your fishing adventure. Hope you'll be bringing back a lot of fishes and photos of them. Also, posting your teriyake fish. -lance

Robyn said...

I don't like teriyaki dishes because of the "drowning in sauce" syndrome...:( I need to try real teriyaki!

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to read about your fishing trip!

Alice said...

Hi, Lance,

Thanks for the well-wishing!! I didn't quite bring back a whole lot of fish, but luckily, my friends did!

Robyn,

Yes, yes! I totally understand where you are coming from. I get a little overwhelmed too when there's too much sauce to meat ratio. Let me know what you think when you get around to trying the basted-style teriyaki!

Crawmommy,

Thanks for checking in! Here's my trip report!