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Sekai Gohan

Tako Wasabi: Japanese Izakaya Raw Octopus in Wasabi Dressing

Servings 2 servings

Tako wasabi in a small bowl: thin slices of raw octopus and round suckers coated in a pale dressing, with a green shiso leaf underneath
Steps with photos

Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Role
Raw octopus, sashimi grade (tako) 7 oz (200 g) The main ingredient. Suckers and leg, eaten raw
Salt, for rubbing 1 tbsp Rubs the slime off the octopus. It is rinsed away
White dashi, 10× concentrate (shiro dashi) 2 tsp The base of dashi flavor and salt in the dressing
Mirin 2 tsp Sweetness and gloss. Cooked first to drive off the alcohol
Soy sauce (shoyu) 1 tsp Aroma and depth
Dried red chili, sliced into rings (takanotsume) ½ tsp A sharp edge of heat behind the wasabi
Wasabi 1 tbsp The defining heat of the dish
Green shiso leaf (ōba) 1 leaf Garnish. Fresh aroma and color

Steps

  1. 1Prepare the shiso, mirin and octopus skin

    Cut the stem off the shiso leaf and shred the leaf into fine threads. Warm the 2 tsp mirin in a small saucepan to cook off the alcohol, then take it off the heat and let it cool. Peel the thin outer skin from the octopus. The mirin is ready when it is no longer hot, and the octopus is ready when the pale flesh shows all along the leg.

  2. 2Separate the suckers and slice the leg

    Cut the suckers away from the leg. Cut them one at a time so each one becomes a small round bite. Slice the leg thinly with a sharp knife, on a slight diagonal. Raw octopus is chewy, and thin slices keep every bite tender. You are done when the board holds a small pile of round suckers and a fan of thin slices.

  3. 3Rub the octopus with salt

    Put the octopus in a bowl, sprinkle the 1 tbsp salt over it and rub it in firmly with your hands. The salt pulls the slime off the surface. It cleans the octopus and does not season it. Keep working until the pieces feel less slippery and cloudy liquid has gathered in the bottom of the bowl.

  4. 4Rinse in fresh water and dry thoroughly

    Tip the octopus into a colander and rinse it well under running fresh tap water, turning the pieces so all the salt and slime wash away. Use plain fresh water, never salted water. Spread the pieces on paper towels and press more paper on top to dry them thoroughly. They are ready when the surface feels clean rather than slick and fresh paper comes away almost dry.

  5. 5Mix the marinade

    In the second bowl, combine the white dashi, the cooled mirin, the soy sauce, the chili rings and the wasabi. Stir well, pressing the wasabi against the side of the bowl so it loosens into the liquid. The marinade is ready when no lumps of wasabi remain and it has turned an even, pale, creamy color.

    Set the heat here

    Wasabi varies a lot in strength from product to product. Adjust the wasabi and chili to your taste while the marinade is still on its own, before the octopus goes in.

  6. 6Toss the octopus in the marinade

    Add the blotted-dry octopus to the marinade. Fold it through with chopsticks or a spoon, lifting from the bottom so the suckers do not settle under the slices. Keep folding until every piece is coated and chili rings cling here and there.

  7. 7Cover and chill for 1 hour

    Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and put it straight into the refrigerator. Leave it for about 1 hour so the marinade seasons the octopus. The bowl stays in the refrigerator for the whole time, never on the counter. It is ready when the pieces look glossy and the dressing clings to them.

  8. 8Serve cold

    Take the bowl out only when you are ready to eat. Spoon the octopus into small bowls with some of its marinade and scatter the shredded shiso over the top. Serve it at once, while the octopus is still cold to the touch.