Smoked chili roasted kingfish with cucumber and ruby grapefruit salad

for 2 people

Herald on Sunday

By Nic Watt

Ever wondered what that subtle sweet-sour flavour is in your sushi? It's sushi-zu - or sushi vinegar. Don't just limit it to making sushi; combine it with lemon juice, olive oil and fresh herbs and you'll have a balanced, quick and delicious dressing. It provides an additional depth of flavour in my Roast Kingfish Belly recipe. Buy sushi vinegar for a perfectly balanced salt and sweet combination.

Kingfish

1 piece	Kingfish, belly of, skin on* (Main)
1 Tbsp	Chilli powder, I used aji amarillo smoked chilli
5 Tbsp	Sushi vinegar
2 Tbsp	Soy sauce
1 Tbsp	Mirin
1 Tbsp	Lemon juice
4 Tbsp	Grapeseed oil

Cucumber and grapefruit salad

1	Cucumber, split in half lengthways, seeds removed and discarded, flesh sliced into bite-sized chunks
1 cup	Sushi vinegar
1	Pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented
⅓	Red cabbages, thinly sliced
2 pinches	Sea salt
1 Tbsp	Black sesame seeds
½	Red chillies, mild, diced
1 serving	Fresh coriander

Directions

Combine the smoked chilli, sushi vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, lemon juice, grapeseed oil and a little freshly cracked black pepper to form a wet marinade. Pour the marinade over the kingfish and set aside.
For the salad, cover the cucumber with sea salt, toss together and allow to stand for about 10 minutes. The salt will draw the water out from the cucumber and soften it. Wash the salt off with cold running water and drain.
Pour the sushi vinegar over the softened cucumber, add the grapefruit segments, cabbage, sea salt, sesame seeds, chili and coriander and combine gently.
Roast the kingfish over the barbecue or under a hot grill for about 12 minutes or until the smoked chili has caramelised and the belly has almost cooked through. Serve immediately with the fresh salad.

*You can use another firm-fleshed oily fish such as tuna, marlin, mahi or mackerel belly.

** You can buy aji amarillo smoked chili from Nosh Food Market.