Foiru-yaki: Mixed Grill in Foil

10Jun09

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I chose this recipe in order to “break-in” my birthday gift hibachi. It’s made of cast iron, and though I think it has been pre-seasoned, I wanted to start with something that would not stick and burn on the grate. As it turned out, it was wet and rainy at dinner time, so I used my oven. Never mind, though: this is a really delicious meal no matter the heat source. It’s a simple combination of fish, shrimp, chicken, and mushrooms cooked with a bit of lemon and sake. The flavors marry and become an incredible fusion greater than the sum of its parts.

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Gingami-yaki is the contemporary version of the age-old practice of wrapping foods in wet leaves for cooking in hot ashes. Leaves or paper allows the food to “breathe” as it cooks. In Japan, hand-made paper was used, but today, it is very expensive. Foil is much more accessible. Another technique for cooking food in a fire is to use unglazed earthenware. In India and China foods are packed in wet clay, then fired until the clay is baked. The hard covering is cracked open while still hot and the food inside is nicely cooked in its own juices. In Japan a two piece earthenware vessel called a hõraku was developed. It looks like two cymbals sealed rim to rim with clay or mud. The vessel would be buried in live coals to cook the foods in it. Whether one uses foil or a clay container, the food is actually steamed (steaming = musimono), but in Japan where the traditional heat source is charcoal, this cooking method is called mushi-yaki (steam grilling).

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Mixed Grill in Foil Foiru-yaki serves 4 From: Japanese Cooking A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji page 196
To Prepare: • 1 pound white-fleshed fish fillets sea bream, sea bass, flounder, sole, and so on • ½ pound shrimp • ½ pound chicken thigh meat • 8 large mushrooms matsutake, shiitake, or western-type mushrooms	Cut large fish fillet crosswise into 4-ounce portions. Shell and devein shrimp. Leave tales attached. Parboil in lightly salted water til pink, then drain and cool. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces, and score each a few times, to make sure the chicken cooks quickly. Clean mushrooms. Trim off hard shiitake stems, but discard only the root end of the matsutake stem. Cut lenthwise into slices ¼ inch thick.
Get your grill ready! The charcoal fire should be at its hottest; coals should be red, and there should be no flame. The hand test for hotness of charcoal: hold your hand over the grill and if you have to remove it before you count to 3, then it’s hot enough! If you are cooking this in an oven, pre-heat to 475°F.
Assemble the packets: • 4 12-inch squares of aluminum foil • 1 lemon, sliced thinly • 2 Tablespoons saké	Butter the centers of the foil squares. In the center of each, place a portion of fish fillet, skin side up. On top and around it arrange shrimp, chicken, and mushroom slices. Top with a pat of butter and a lemon slice. Over each portion, sprinkle about ½ Tablspoon saké. Fold up into a packet and crimp edges to seal well. Place on grill above coals and grill for 10 minutes. Don’t turn. (Or bake for 15 to 20 minutes.)
To serve: • salt • soy sauce (shoyu)	Remove packets from coals and place on individual serving plates. Let diners open packets themselves at the table. Serve hot with salt and shoyu.
NOTES Don’t plan to cook once and eat twice with this recipe: it doesn’t reheat very well because the fish and shrimp get over-cooked.

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Filed under: Fish and Seafood, Grilling and Pan-Frying, Japanese Food, Yakimono, chicken   |  10 Comments
Tags: Japanese Cooking