Hamachi Sashimi With Ginger Ponzu

Recipe from Sheldon Simeon

Adapted by Ligaya Mishan

Updated Jan. 3, 2024

Hamachi Sashimi With Ginger Ponzu
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop Stylist: Pamela Duncan Silver.
Total Time
2½ hours
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes, plus 2 hours’ resting
Rating
4(51)
Notes
Read community notes

At Tiffany’s in the small town of Wailuku in central Maui, hamachi sashimi comes with a sauce so good, diners keep spooning it up long after the fish is gone. Bright and briny at once, it draws from the cuisines of island nations across the Pacific, combining elements of Japanese ponzu and fina’denne’, a CHamoru condiment from Guam that is a blend of shoyu (soy sauce), vinegar or citrus, onions and chiles. The chef Sheldon Simeon adds sweet local onions and ginger in lieu of chiles, for a gentler kick, plus shiso for “effervescence,” he says. To finish, he simmers lemon peel and olive oil over low heat, then strains out the peel so just the olive oil is left, only now sun-possessed. Drizzled at the very end, it gives the fish the vividness of lemon without curing it. —Ligaya Mishan

Featured in: How a Maui Local Makes Sashimi Extra Special

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1(2-inch) square of kombu (dried kelp)
  • 2tablespoons bonito flakes (shaved katsuobushi, also called hana-katsuo)
  • ½cup shoyu (soy sauce)
  • ¼cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)
  • ¼cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
  • ½cup finely diced sweet onion, rinsed and drained well
  • 1½teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 1tablespoon finely chopped fresh shiso (from 2 to 3 leaves)
  • 9ounces skinless hamachi (yellowtail) fillet
  • Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
  • Extra-virgin olive oil (or lemon olive oil, see Tip)
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put the kombu and bonito flakes in a small bowl.

  2. Step 2

    Heat ¼ cup of water until steaming but not boiling. Pour the hot water over the kombu and bonito flakes. Let steep for 15 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Add the shoyu, lemon juice and lime juice. Mix gently and let the ponzu sit for 2 hours at room temperature.

  4. Step 4

    Strain the ponzu through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids. Add the onion, ginger and shiso and mix.

  5. Step 5

    With a very sharp knife, cut the fish straight down or at a slight angle into 16 slices, each about ¼-inch thick.

  6. Step 6

    Transfer the sauce to a chilled plate with a lip, or a shallow serving bowl, making sure to evenly distribute the onions. Shingle the hamachi slices on top. Season the hamachi with some flaky salt and drizzle with olive oil.

Tip
  • To make lemon oil, gently poach lemon zest in olive oil, then let it steep for about an hour before straining.

Ratings

4 out of 5
51 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Ramiro Barrera

We had this dish at Tiffany's in Maui few weeks before Christmas...it was fabulous and everything about the restaurant was memorable and nostalgic. I will be making this but just wanted to say thanks for keeping Tiffany's alive and well while reinventing it's menu.

DB Lowe

Salty, citrusy, and tart but mellowed by the addition of ginger and onion. I was afraid it would be too assertive but it wasn't, and indeed I enjoyed splashing it on my rice even without the fish. Didn't make the lemon oil, instead drizzled the oil on the fish and zested a bit of lemon peel over it to finish. Delish.

Tim

Any reason this ponzu sauce shouldn't be made the day before?

dan p

Sure wish the kombu and bonito flakes were in grams.

Bibendum

Question. 2-3 Shiso leaves are not enough to make the sauce that rich red color, is it?

adam

Is the onion raw or cooked wonton a bit?

adam

Is the onion raw or sweated down a bit?

M C Brown

My reading is its raw. This could be why sweet onion is specified.

DB Lowe

Salty, citrusy, and tart but mellowed by the addition of ginger and onion. I was afraid it would be too assertive but it wasn't, and indeed I enjoyed splashing it on my rice even without the fish. Didn't make the lemon oil, instead drizzled the oil on the fish and zested a bit of lemon peel over it to finish. Delish.

Ramiro Barrera

We had this dish at Tiffany's in Maui few weeks before Christmas...it was fabulous and everything about the restaurant was memorable and nostalgic. I will be making this but just wanted to say thanks for keeping Tiffany's alive and well while reinventing it's menu.

Private notes are only visible to you.

Credits

Adapted from Sheldon Simeon of Tiffany’s, Maui, Hawaii

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