Charred Bonito with Achara Salad

Charred Bonito with Achara Salad
- 200g piece sashimi grade Bonito, skin on, and cut into 4 equal pieces
- 100g sea grapes, picked (see note)
- 1 small tomato, diced
- 2 small red onions, finely diced
- Soy sauce, to serve
Achara
- 500ml (2 cups) chilli cane vinegar
- 500g sugar
- 1 clove garlic, blanched and crushed
- 1 small daikon, peeled and cut into julienne
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into julienne
- 1 small green pawpaw, peeled and cut into julienne
- 4 long red chillies, seeded and cut into julienne
- 50g ginger, peeled and cut into julienne
Vinaigrette
- 10 Calamansi lemons, juiced and strained (see note)
- 80ml (⅓ cup) rice wine
- 60ml (¼ cup) olive oil
- 2 tbs sugar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- Place the fish, skin-side up, on an oven tray and place a lightly oiled cake rack on top of the fish.
- Using a domestic blowtorch, sear the skin for 10 seconds or until the skin has been just marked.
- Remove the cake rack and refrigerate the fish until needed.
- For the achara, place the chilli vinegar and the sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and remove from heat.
- Cool, then add the blanched and crushed garlic clove.
- Add all the remaining ingredients, combine well and stand for at least 10 minutes.
- Drain and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Combine the sea grapes, tomato and onion in a bowl and set aside.
- To make the vinaigrette, place all the ingredients in a bowl, season to taste and combine well.
- To serve, thinly slice the fish and arrange on plates.
- Sprinkle the sea grape salad over the top and serve the achara separately with soy sauce.
Note: Calamansi are a citrus fruit similar to lemons and are widely used in the Philippines. You can substitute with lemons.
Sea grapes are a type of seaweed that forms in clumps that look like a bunch of grapes.