Receiving Our Acupunctured Snapper: A Culinary Experience

So we just received our Kaimin Tai Acupuncture Snapper, and as Antonio Park from Restaurant Park explains, "Kaimin means sleeping," referring to the fact that the fish is acupunctured. The process involves building a little mat with needles coming out, allowing you to place the fish on top of it when catching one. When you catch a fish, you put it on the needle and literally, it sleeps.

Before preparing our Acupuncture Snapper, Antonio emphasizes the importance of having sharp knives, particularly on both sides. He notes that taking your time and using the right angle is crucial for a successful cut. One of the first things to notice when handling the fish is its clear eyes, which indicates freshness. To check if the fish is fresh, you dig into it and examine its cleanliness. The way the fish was killed also contributes to its quality.

The Acupuncture Snapper is a rare and expensive delicacy, originating from Japan, New Zealand, or Hawaii, California. Antonio invites viewers to find out who brings these fish to their local markets or come to his restaurant for a similar experience. He notes that the price may seem steep, but it's worth trying. Scaling up the ingredients, Antonio cautions against attempting this at home with your mother's sink, as she might not be happy.

To fillet the Acupuncture Snapper, Antonio separates it into different components and separates the belly from the top side. Cutting down a fish is an art that requires feeling for bones. The process begins by making a stock out of the belly to avoid waste. A sharp knife is essential in cutting and separating the fish. Using micro chives adds strength to his dish, while freshly grated wasabi enhances flavor.

For this recipe, Antonio uses dashi-style preparation, where he separates the skin from the fillet. He then makes a soup with miso and mixes it with kelp to create a delicious broth. Adding bonito flakes, soy sauce, and boiling the mixture results in a flavorful dish. The finished product is garnished with a little sauce, Japanese citrus between lemon and lime, which adds an expensive but unique flavor.

The recipe continues with Antonio's preparation of the liver as a dipping sauce. He uses Japanese peppers and green onion along with soy sauce to marinate it before serving. He then takes out the bone from the fish that was previously cooked in a deep fryer. To finish the dish, Antonio adds raw pepper for added spice, similar to Russian roulette, where you never know what will happen.

Finally, Antonio prepares the liver on the side as a dipping sauce, adding four seasons sprouts and lemon for garnish. He then moves on to creating another stock using the head, middle bones of the fillet, and bellies of the fish. This soup is made by mixing it with miso, boiling, straining, and squeezing for flavor.

The second dish consists of taking one side of the cooked fish that had been salted and peppered and cutting it into thin slices. These are added on top of a bowl where they can be appreciated in their beauty without being submerged. The finished Acupuncture Snapper recipe concludes with Antonio's encouragement to use every part of the ingredients, emphasizing not to waste food. By following his tips, home cooks can learn how to cook this unique dish with confidence and creativity.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enSo we just received ourKaimin TaiAcupuncture Snapper.So Kaimin means sleeping,right?The reason that he'ssleeping is because he'sbeen acupunctured.They actually builta little mat that hasneedles coming out, soall you have to dowhen you catch a fish,you put the fish ontop of the needle.And then it sleeps.Literally, it sleeps.My name is Antonio Parkfrom Restaurant Park.>> .>> I, I'm the cook,the dishwasher.Sometimes the owner.Depends.And today we'regoing somesAcupunctured SnapperKaimin Tai from Japan.We're gonna try toutilize every single partof it.Fried, seered,raw, in a soup,in a broth, and try touse everything of it.So before the arrivalof the fish,always make sure yourknives are sharp.A lot of people doesit both sides sharpen,this is only one side.Normally you takeit in a very,very sharp 15 degree,deg,degree angle inthe first ,up and down.One of the firstthing that yousee is the clear eyes.That's how you know ifyour fish is fresh,then you go in, you dig,dig it in there andthen you see howclean it is here?How beautiful it is?Is not only becausethe fish is fresh,it's also the waythat it's killed.A Snapper, a family,you have to bring it fromeither Japan, New Zealandor Hawaii, California.Well, there's manyplaces that, that the,that do this, butyou just have to find it,find it onthe internet andfind out who'sbringing in this.Or you can just cometo my restaurant andI'll sell you one forlike a hundred bucks,hundred fifty.It's pretty expensive,but it's prettydamn good.Just gonnascale these up.Don't do this atyour mother's sink.She won't be happy.We're gonnatake the Snapper.We're gonna filletthe Snapper first.Separate it.Put it in differentcomponents.A lot of people willactually take the head,anddeep fry them, anduse it as a presentation.That's likethe old school.But there's so muchflavor going on there,you don't wanna use it,you don't wanna waste it,so I'm gonna change theway of thinking that way.So, this is a way thatyou filet two ways, butat the same time, sothat you have two filetsgoing back to back.When youcut the fish yougotta feel the bone.I'm separating the bellyand the top side.Cut the belly.Open the belly first.We wanna make a stockout of this belly also.So, there's no waste.I, I, I been to so manyrestaurants that theyjust cut the belly andthrow it away.Number one,because they don'thave the knife to cut it.They don't have thetechnique to use it ina certain way.We're gonna dosashimi-style first.Take out the skin of it.All the steps are verystraightforward.All the steps are,are basic stepsto filet a fish,to cut down a fish, andto separate a fish inmany different ways.So many usethe micro chives.They're a bit morestronger that normal,normal chives.This is freshlygrated wasabi.My boys alreadygrated it so.I don't,I don't like to mix it.I like to justput it on top.So the person who'sgonna eat it will putas much as he wants.noodles.It's like a clear noodlesbut there not noodles.Cuz it's a seaweed.And we're gonna finishwith a little bit offlower on top.A little bit ofwhich is a japanesecitrus in-betweenlemon and lime.That is freakingexpensive.And then after, I'm gonnaput a little sauce.Dish one completed.So I'm taking outthe innards right there.This is like the liverof the fish.So a lot of peoplewill not even use it,will not even touch it,will just throw itin the garbage.A lot of people will usea lot of chicken livercow liver, beef liverduck liver, butnever fish liver.I'm gonna puta little bit ofJapanesepeppers in there.A little bit of greenonion, soy sauce.Let it marinatea little bit.I'm gonna take that bone,right there.That's goingin a deep fryer.The top side,put a little salt.Don't be afraidto season.So now we're gonnatake the pan.Put someoil in there.We wanna keep it thereuntil itbecomes crispy.I, I, I try to leavethe tail with outfrying because it givesa natural color tothe tail.I'm gonna turn that over.Break the skin.You really needa sharp knife tocut a cooked-fish.A raw fish ismuch more easier.When it comesto cooked-fish,it's a wholedifferent way.I wanna saute somepeppers.Add a little salt.>> Its like Russianroulette, right?You're going to eat ituntil you findthe spicy one, butwhen you find the spicyone its really spicy.It's not even a joke.I'm gonna finish withthe liver right there onthe side,as like a dipping sauce.Put a little bit of ,.A little four seasonssprouts right next to it.Put a little lemon.Dish number two.We're gonna make a stockwith the head andthe middle bonesof the filet andthe bellies of course.You, you,you cut it in half soyou can, there ismore flavor there.You gotta popoff the eye.Cuz the,the eye is bitter.Rinse it nicely,take out allthe blood line,you don't need that.That's the bellies,remember the bellythat I took out?Put it in there.The middle bonesfrom the fillets.So this is kelp.I wanna mix itwith some miso.I make it like a,light miso soup.We're gonna put a littlebit of bonito flakes.Soy sauce, we're gonnaboil this nice and hot.And once we do thatwe're gonna strain it.Don't forgetto squeeze it,that's a lot offlavor right there.Im gonna take outthe other top side that Ihad, salt andpepper on one side.Cut it really thin.Get a little green onion.I wanna put it going upon the bowl because if Iput it inside, it's justgoing to soak it in andyou won't see howbeautiful is the fish.That's it.Enjoy your fish.Do not waste youringredients.Use every part of it.Everything is edible.People doing this at hometake, take your time.Sharp your knife andhave fun.Have a lot of fun.\n"