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geoduck sashimi is great....but what is this hokkigai? never heard of it.

geoduck is served sashimi style using mainly the abalone type muscle.....got a pic of the hokkigai?
 
Hokkigai is the foot of a surf clam (I think it's a different kind of surf clam in Japan than what is served at local sushi shops). I love it, and find it much better than the traditional fate of local surf clams ending up in chowder or strips for deep frying. Like Tako, it goes through a treatment before cut and serve.
 
originally posted by Joe Perry:
Hokkigai is the foot of a surf clam (I think it's a different kind of surf clam in Japan than what is served at local sushi shops). I love it, and find it much better than the traditional fate of local surf clams ending up in chowder or strips for deep frying. Like Tako, it goes through a treatment before cut and serve.
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like a brine treatment? i'll have to look into this.....am close to some good sources, but hokkigai in kyoto (a stretch to the ocean) may only show here seasonally
 
I ate Cuttlefish in Venice, then in Gorizia, last Fall. I'd never had it before. Can you get it here? Man, it was good! Simple preparation, fun to eat!
 
I'm thinking of sustainably raking a few this Spring.
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Cool.

What kind of prep do I need to do with a surf clam to make it Hokkigai? I understand the knife work, but there must be a step between.
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I'm not sure I get you- Hokkigai is just a Japanese term for surf clam, and the knife work / prep would be what distinguishes it as something you'd find in a sushi restaurant rather than at a clam bake.

After doing the water-bath anti-sand thing, you'll open it up and get a lot of junk and a triangle-looking piece of muscle. It's the slightly curved "tongue" end that turns slightly pink when you cook it- just a quick blanche or saute. Or it's good raw (more sweet). Trim the opposite sides where it was attached to the shell, and butterfly it. Clean out the gunk in the middle (scraping a knife works well) and you're good to go- make a pretty display if you've gone the pink-tip route.

Medium age Briords, perhaps, or a decent Fiano with a few years.
 
Thanks, Seth.

I have free-dived for lobsters, crabs and speared fish for the past ten years. I want to get my clam and urchin license this year. I'm getting more into foraging the past few years. Last week I made Blancmange from Irish Moss collected after a storm.

I think the quick blanche might be what I need to replicate the hokkigai from local sushi joints, though it might take me a few runs to get it right. Is there any other surf clam (sashimi) treatment that you know of?

Best,
Joe
 
as you know already, most shellfish show sweet nutty characters when served raw....and few (like the butter clams in the Pc NW, and the "beach chesnut" clam known as the hamaguri here in Jp) do well with a quick white wine simmer, then add a butter lemon dip and a romorantin and you go to heaven.

the hokkigai prob gets it's name from being a hokkaido clam (just a guess...i haven't seen the kanji yet) but i just saw a photo online. yep we get that here, but the prob is, it's literally so removed from its place (not to mention it's shell) that one ends up with something which might work better as a chopstick holder than a delicacy. they might brine it, but what's the need to do so....? i think you pop the shell and slice and dice, with some shoyu and wasabi on hand and then judge for yourself which way you want to go, Joe.
 
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
This is reminding meI ate Cuttlefish in Venice, then in Gorizia, last Fall. I'd never had it before. Can you get it here? Man, it was good! Simple preparation, fun to eat!
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I just grilled fresh squid at midnight last night (after Watchmen)! I find that all cephalopod might not be equal, but any (octopi, squid or cuttlefish) can help to kill the craving for a different cephalopod.
 
originally posted by Joel Stewart:
i think you pop the shell and slice and dice, with some shoyu and wasabi on hand and then judge for yourself which way you want to go, Joe.
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Damn, you are right. Tomorrow I am going to buy a surf clam from my favorite fish monger and see what happens in the natural state.
 
originally posted by Thor:
I think the quick blanche might be what I need
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DuBois?

Steve: I've seen it frozen (with ink) here, but not fresh. Though I haven't looked very hard.
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Squid/Octopi/Cuttlefish simply need 2 minutes of saute or grill. I can only imagine DuBois clams need a lot more oil and tenderizing.
 
originally posted by Joe Perry:

Squid/Octopi/Cuttlefish simply need 2 minutes of saute or grill. I can only imangine DuBois clams need a lot more oil and tenderizing.
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You should always blanch DuBois.

F

PS and depend on the kindness of strangers
 
I'm still laughing from Charles' response. I don't know what the rest of you are talking about other than novel ways to spend a few days in the bathroom.
 
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