Tiradito de Salmón Agridulce

Sweet-and-Sour Salmon Sashimi-Style with Orange-Miso Sauce

I love the contrasting flavors and textures in this tiradito: sweet and sour, crunchy and soft. If you use a large, round plate and arrange the salmon in a circle, the slices look like the rays of the sun. The ponzu sauce really needs to be homemade (page 37). The jarred stuff sucks all the life out of fresh seafood. It is usually way overseasoned and heavy.

• About ⅓ cup Rocoto Leche de Tigre (page 78), well chilled
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon homemade ponzu (page 37)
• 8 (¼-inch-thick) slices salmon, from a center-cut fillet (see page 80)
• 2 generous tablespoons Blood Orange–Miso Sauce (recipe)
• A few teaspoons very finely minced fresh chives or cilantro stems (see sidebar, page 88), for garnish
• A few teaspoons crispy quinoa (see sidebar, page 201), for garnish (optional)
• Good-quality extra-virgin olive oil

1 Mix together the leche de tigre and ponzu in a small dish and spoon the sauce on the bottom of one large or four small plates. Neatly arrange the fish slices on top of the sauce with about ½ inch of space between each slice. If you are using a large, round serving platter, you can arrange the fish in a circle, like the rays of the sun, or use a long, rectangular plate and arrange the fish down the middle.

2 Place 1 scant teaspoon of the blood orange–miso sauce in the center of each slice of fish. Lightly sprinkle the chives decoratively along one edge of the fish slices and sprinkle the quinoa (if using) on the opposite edge of each slice (or use more chives). Drizzle the olive oil lightly over the sauce and fish, and serve inmediatamente.

Blood Orange–Miso Sauce

Makes a generous ¼ cup, enough for 2 large tiradito plates

You know a fruit with the same color as the bright red blood of a healthy, fresh-caught fish is going to be really good in a tiradito sauce. (If you can’t find blood oranges, use regular oranges. It will still be very good.) This sauce doubles or triples well; just cook it a few minutes longer until it reduces by about half. Saikyo miso (see page 265) is worth seeking out for its subtle, balanced flavor, but more widely available shiromiso is a good substitute.

• 1 tablespoon ají amarillo paste (page 34)
• 1 tablespoon saikyo or shiro (white) miso
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh blood orange juice
• 2 tablespoons mirin

Stir together the ají amarillo paste, miso, sake, and lime juice in a small saucepan. Add the orange juice and mirin and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the sauce has reduced by almost half, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool completely, and refrigerate the blood orange–miso sauce for up to 3 days.