Oscars Party: "Life of Pi" Inspired Yellowtail (Hamachi) Carpaccio with Mango, Pomegranate, and Ponzu Sauce

My second Oscars party dish is inspired by the movie “Life of Pi”. The movie is about a boy deserted on a lifeboat with a tiger for 227 days. The movie is actually much more than that; it is about faith, finding the balance between religion and science, and a look into how the human mind processes tragedy. But in the end, whether it is philosophical or physical, it is about survival. When the supplies on the boat are depleted, the main character Pi has to rely on fish to feed himself. He literally has to catch, and kill a live fish and then eat it raw. While those scenes don’t look very appetizing, I knew that I could make raw fish taste really good. The main star of this dish is the yellowtail; it is so buttery and fresh that it really doesn’t need much else to make it flavorful. If you can’t find yellowtail, go for some tuna or mahi-mahi and make sure it’s really good quality since you will not be cooking it (ask for sashimi-grade). Since the character of the movie is Indian, I also wanted to add some Indian cuisine influences such as mango, pomegranate seeds, and the white pepper. Ponzu sauce is made from the Japanese citrus fruit yuzu, and it is fantastic with seafood. You can substitute some lemon juice if you can’t find it, but it’s not hard to find and it really is worth the purchase.


 

Yellowtail (Hamachi) Carpaccio with Mango, Pomegranate, and Ponzu Sauce

Adapted slightly from here


Ingredients:

1/2 pound sashimi grade yellowtail (hamachi)- you can substitute sashimi grade tuna as well

1 tablespoon Japanese ponzu sauce- you can substitute lemon juice

1 teaspoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

Half a mango

Half a jalapeno pepper

1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds

Few springs of chive

Few springs of mint

Lemon slices to garnish


Directions:

Place the plate you are going to serve in the freezer. Place the yellowtail in the freezer as well for a minute or so, this way you will be able to slice it easily.
Combine the ponzu sauce, lime juice, salt, white pepper and olive oil in a bowl.

Using a sharp knife, slice the yellowtail very thinly. Slice the mango and jalapeno thinly as well. Chop the chive and mint finely.

Place the yellowtail and mango on the plate. Top with the pomegranate seeds, chopped jalapeno, chive and mint. Drizzle with the dressing, garnish with the lemon slices. Serve immediately.