By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, October 27, 1999

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Tasty Butterfish Niitsuke is simple to prepare.

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Serve it up, Japanese-style

FORREST Leonard and Pearl Louie both hope to recreate at home Japanese specialties they've enjoyed at restaurants.

Leonard is hungry for Butterfish Niitsuke and Louie wants to make Wafu Steak, specifically the type served at Hifumi Restaurant on North Beretania Street. Her family pays weekly Saturday visits to Hifumi, she says.

Niitsuke refers to a reduced sauce of sugar and soy sauce that is served with fish. With strong-flavored fish such as butterfish, water is traditionally used in the sauce, but with more delicate fish such as onaga or flounder, the water may be mixed with dashi to add to the taste.

The traditional formula is 4 parts water (or water-dashi in equal amounts) to 1 part soy sauce and 1 part sugar. For those who prefer a stronger brew, the ratio can be reduced to 3-1-1.

This recipe calls for covering the fish loosely with foil, rather than a pot lid. This allows for steam to escape so the sauce reduces, without drying the fish.

My friend Cynthia, who sits two desks over, makes a version using more soy sauce (1 cup to 2/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water) and she uses frozen fish, without bothering to thaw it. She puts everything in a covered pot, brings it to a boil, then reduces to a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. She also adds tofu. Her method would yield a stronger sauce without reduction (lots of water seeps out of the frozen fish). The technique you choose depends on the effect you're going for.

As for the steak, "wafu" refers to Japanese-style preparation, as opposed to "yofu," or European-style.

The steak at Hifumi is served on sizzling platters brought to the table. The version that follows is adapted for home cooking in a skillet.

Thanks to Hiroshi Fukui of L'Uraku restaurant, my consultant in all things Japanese, for translating the Hifumi recipe and helping refine the details in both.

BUTTERFISH NIITSUKE

1 pound butterfish steaks
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
5-6 slices of ginger, 1/8-inch thick
3 stalks green onion, in 2-inch lengths

Cut fish into large chunks, leaving skin on. Place fish on the bottom of a shallow pan, in a single layer.

Combine water, sugar, soy sauce and ginger, mixing until sugar is dissolved. Add to pot. Fish should be 3/4 covered. Cover loosely with foil.

Bring to a boil. Continue cooking rapidly about 2 minutes, until sauce begins to reduce. Remove foil and continue cooking until fish is done, another 3 minutes. As the sauce reduces, spoon liquid over the fish so it doesn't dry out. Add green onions in the last minute of cooking.

Fish will be very soft. Remove carefully. Garnish with julienned ginger and Japanese chile pepper, if desired. Serves 2.

Variation: Lay slices of konbu in the pot beneath the fish to add flavor and keep the fish from sticking. Gobo (burdock root) or tofu may also be added to the pot.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 500 calories, 21 g total fat (saturated fat unknown), 165 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,000 mg sodium.*

WAFU STEAK

Hifumi Restaurant

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sake
4 6-ounce New York steaks
1/2 cup potato starch (katakuri)
1 onion, sliced

Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1 cup sake
1/4 head garlic, peeled
1/4 medium onion

To make sauce: Combine ingredients well in blender. Set aside.

To prepare steak: Combine soy sauce and sake. Dip each steak in mixture, then coat in potato starch. Saute in skillet, 3-4 minutes per side for medium. Remove.

Saute onions in same pan, then add sauce and cook until slightly reduced. Serve each steak over a bed of onions, with sauce spooned over the top. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 480 calories, 12 g total fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 95 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,400 mg sodium.*

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.