13 hours ago, heidih said:@Duvel Faux unagi? Explain please. I think I asked before but is the octopus something you buy already cooked? Maybe you previously noted it was a frozen product. Here I don't see frozen cooked only beautiful sold cooked in cold case at Japanese market https://www.nijiya.com/
Nice unagi is difficult to come by here, the frozen stuff in the local Asia shops is not good. In the meantime I was thinking how to get that texture/mouthfeel/flavor combo somewhat right, and what works for me in rolls and even in salads is eggplant. Peeled, thickly sliced (either slices or sticks), then brushed with a bit of fish sauce and liberally salted for 20-30 min and squeezed dry - you want to compress the flesh. Fried in neutral oil, taken out when browned and slightly crispy, then rested for a minute and brushed with Ketjap Manis (or unagi sauce) and sprinkled with a tiny bit of Sansho. After the pieces have come to room temperature and the sauce has seeped in and mingled with the oily flesh they are good to go. The next batch will get a touch of smoke. It is not exactly unagi but if you’ll try it you’ll understand why it works.
The octopus comes cooked & frozed. Great product, tender with just the right amount of bite. I buy it in 1.5 kg packs 🤗
