Kingfish Crudo with Jalapenos

The makings of a classic Kingfish Crudo with Jalapenos is so simple, yet surprisingly few attempt to make this wonderful dish at home. The key to success with this dish that has been popularized by famous Japanese restaurants like Nobu all lies in the Kingfish. With so few ingredients, the star of the dish needs to be absolute top quality. Get your hands on some great Sushi-grade Fish and the rest is easy!

A delicate mix of spice and acid, mixed with the beautiful flavor of that wonderful Kingfish. Unlike other styles of raw (or barely raw) Seafood preparations, the Fish doesn’t require an extended amount of time in the Lemon Juice, so it’s a simple and quick dish that you can whip up for a nice appetizer to a fancy home cooked meal

What is the difference between Crudo and Sashimi?

Simply put, Sashimi is completely raw, whereas Crudo has been ‘cooked’ in Lemon or Lime Juice. Crudo is more like a Ceviche or Aguachile in that regard, but each recipe has some subtle nuances. You can serve your Crudos with anything you want. For this dish we love to keep it simple with just a few slices of Jalapeno

The dish is very Japanese in its restraint with presentation, however a Crudo isn’t traditionally a Japanese recipe. That’s what’s so great about cooking is that you can take dishes from different parts of the world and fuse them together to create something special. That is what fusion cooking is all about

While we’re not specifically ‘fusion’ cooks here at Dinnertime Somewhere, we do love to take ingredients and cooking techniques from different parts of the world to create some unique, memorable, and tasty recipes such as this Kingfish Crudo with Jalapenos!

Locating Sashimi Quality Kingfish or Yellowtail is a must for this recipe

I highly recommend sourcing the Fish for this dish at your local Fishmonger or markets. Try to avoid the grocery store if you can. You want the best quality, sashimi-grade fish you can find. Often the fish with be labelled ‘Sashimi Grade’. If not, ask the Fishmonger and let them know you want to prepare the Fish raw, and they’ll guide you in the right direction

This is a Kingfish recipe; however, you can use lots of different types of Fish and it’ll come out great. Another popular alternative is Yellowtail, as it has a similar texture and flavor to Kingfish. Honestly, you can make this dish with any Sashimi-grade fish, so Tuna and Salmon are other great options

Whatever you feel like is going to taste great. The preparation techniques won’t change at all depending on what fish you use. The only difference will be in how the fish is prepared, as the key is to get nice, even slices of beautiful Fish

Preparing the Fish

You want to ensure you have a big, sharp knife for cutting the Fish. The first thing you’ll need to do is remove the skin. Here’s a simple video we have prepared showing you how to remove skin. The video is for Salmon, but the technique remains the same for Kingfish

You may notice a discolored part of the Fish right underneath where the skin was. This is called the bloodline and is perfectly edible. Most fancy restaurants will remove the bloodline before slicing, as it doesn’t look appealing on the plate. Just slice it away with a sharp knife and discard if you want to go for the best looking plate

Then, place the fish flat side down (where the skin once was) and make thin, even slices of the Fish using your sharp knife. There is a technique to do this perfectly, which requires one smooth, simply cut. Let the sharpness of the knife do all the work and avoid trying to hack at the fish. It is quite delicate, so it does require a bit of skin

Honestly, if a few slices get a little bit hacked up, who cares! You can re-arrange the slices of Fish nicely on the plate and it’ll look like they were sliced perfectly. Just do as best as you can and remember that the Fish is still going to taste great regardless of how it is sliced!

Marinade the fish in a simple Lemon and Soy Sauce mixture

To make the marinade all you need to do is combine Lemon Juice and Soy Sauce in a bowl and mix. Unlike a typical Ceviche, the best way to marinade the Fish is to lay them out on a flat plate and then pour over the marinade

The Fish is quite delicate, so simply adding it to a bowl and mixing the marinade through may result in the fish tearing. So, for the best result, carefully lay out the Fish and pour the marinade over the top

After about 10 minutes, flip over the Fish so that both sides get an equal exposure to the marinade. For this dish we only want a light marinade, so 20 minutes in total is enough time. All you need to do is add some thinly sliced pieces of Jalapenos on top of the Fish and it’s ready to serve!

Kingfish Crudo with Jalapenos Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 large Kingfish Filets
• Juice of 3 Lemons
• 1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 Jalapeno, finely sliced
  
  

Instructions

1. Prepare the Kingfish by first removing any skin and the bloodline (the red discolored part of the fish right beneath the skin). Here’s a video on how to remove fish skin (LINK)
2. Combine the Lemon Juice and Soy Sauce in a bowl and mix to combine
3. Lay the Fish flat-side down and slice the fish into thin slices. Lay the slices out on a plate and then pour over the Lemon and Soy marinade
4. After 10 minutes, flip the Fish pieces so both sides get contact with the marinade. After 10 more minutes the fish is ready to serve
5. Finish by adding thin slices of Jalapeno over the Sauce. Keep a few seeds for some added heat!
   
   

Recipe Notes

• Use the sharpest knife you have to cut the Fish. Avoid hacking the fish, instead slice with a smooth motion, allowing the knife to do the work
• If the Fish doesn’t cut evenly, don’t worry. You can rearrange the fish on the plate making it look completely presentable
• For more heat, you can add the Jalapenos directly to the marinade, allowing the heat to infuse into it
  
  

This delightful Kingfish Crudo with Jalapenos is an easy way to prepare a restaurant-quality dish at home. It’s the perfect appetizer to kick off a fancy homecooked meal. It’s also just great to enjoy as a light bite to eat. Perfect for some summertime eating with a glass of wine!

We love cooking up delicious Seafood Appetizers here at Dinnertime Somewhere. Here are a few of our favorites that we recommend you check out:

• Spicy Tuna Lettuce Cups
• Scallop Ceviche with Chili
• Shrimp and Mango Ceviche
• Crispy Tempura Shrimp
  
  

Happy Cooking!