Yellow-fin tuna steaks stuffed with pork-scratchings

The biggest shake-up in Vienna's restaurant scene, at least judging from what I can observe here in London, was the opening of a restaurant in 2001 which kicked off a wave of new culinary initiatives inspired by Asian cuisine. I dare say that none of them was as successful as Sohi Kim, and most certainly, none was as controversial.
Leading a restaurant, shop and show kitchen at the same time, Kim also has authored a cook book (winning has won a "Gourmand World Cookbook Award" in 2004) and many of the recipes are daring, to say the least. For months on end, her restaurant was the all the rage, her name resounded throughout the country and it is not surprising that this incredible success should have gone to her head. The story goes that when someone calls and asks for a table for, say, Friday, she'll respond "I'm not interested in when you want to come, it is me who will tell you when I have an availability". Her cook book also displays a certain kind of arrogance on her part ("Japanese cuisine? Pork scratchings? Impossible! But I do make the impossible happen and everybody loves it!"), but some of the recipes sound intriguing enough for me to try them. My friend Martina, successful caterer, chef-for-hire and teacher of various cooking courses here in London, thinks differently: she doesn't think highly of the book at all, and for the recipe I chose to make last weekend, she only has one word: revolting.
And this is exactly why I wanted to try it. A further push came from Carlo of My latest supper, who suggested "taboo foods" for a recent IMBB event. I didn't have a chance to participate then, but this could sort of be accepted as a late contribution. Pork scratchings, aka "Grammeln", may be a frightening thought for many, but they are as wide-spread in Austria as they're frowned upon by the uninitiated - we eat them in dumplings (Grammelknoedel), in dripping (Grammelschmalz) on rye bread with freshly cut onions, no Sunday roast is complete without a tasty crackling and my Mum would keep the rind of our bacon to cut it into small pieces and fry them until crisp for a nibble when we gathered for a game of cards on the weekend.
To serve them with fish is quite a step from there, I have to admit, especially when paired with pears, sweet chilli sauce and sherry. But we approached it with an open mind and I declare that it DID work for me. I wouldn't eat it in large quantities (especially not without some sort of carbohydrate to support all this heavy protein), but as an amuse-bouche, this is a perfect power-play of flavours... admittedly not for the faint-hearted, but certainly a spectacular and undisputedly mind-shifting culinary experience!
Wine suggestion: we liked our Villa Maria Pinot Gris from New Zealand, but even something fruitier and slightly sweeter could work.

Yellow-fin tuna steaks stuffed with pork scratchings
(serves 2 as a starter, 6 as an amuse)

2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp coarsly crushed black pepper
200 g yellow-fin (sashimi-grade) tuna steaks (cut into 2 pieces for a starter)
100 g pork scratchings
4 tbsp roughly sliced spring onions
3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 medium pear
1 tbsp dry sherry
1 tbsp sweet sherry
2 tbsp peanut oil

Toast (dry-roast) the sesame in a non-stick pan without any oil. When it begins to brown lightly, remove from the pan and reserve in a bowl. Add some sea salt to taste and stir in the crushed pepper.
Fry the pork scratchings in a pan to release some of its fat, add the spring onions and fry for a little bit. Stir in the chilli sauce. Cut pockets into each steak and fill with roughly half of the scratchings mixture. Reserve the rest.
Roll the tuna carefully in the sesame mix. Core and quarter the pear, then cut into fine slivers. Heat the remaining scratchings and add the pears. Fry for ca. 2 minutes, then deglaze with the sherry. Keep warm.
Heat the peanut oil in a pan, add the tuna and sear aggressively until brwoning on the outside, but still raw in the middle. Don't overcook the fish, no more than 1 cm around the outside should be cooked through.
Serve immediately.
If making amuses, cut the tuna into even pieces, use the onion & scratchings as a "bed", place the tuna on top, then finish off with the pear & scratching. Alternatively, present on an oval plate with the two mixtures one at each side.
Wine suggestion: we liked our Villa Maria Pinot Gris from New Zealand, but even something fruitier and slightly sweeter could work.

Comments

[Nicky]

Hi Jo,
finally somebody who knows Grammeln! I'm from Bavaria and grew up with unforgettable dishes from my Grandma. She did great potato fritters mixed with Grammeln, dipped in a to-die-for mixed-mushroom-soup (in case my translation doesn't make sense: Speckerl-Dotsch mit Rahm-Schwammerl-Supp'n). I tried to re-cook the dish many times out of my memories - probably I'm suffering from nostalgia - but never really suceeded.
However, your creation sounds daring, looks beautiful and I would definitely give it a try ;)

[johanna]

Wow, your grandma's dish sounds intriguing. I've never come across it. Grammeln are either a big hit or a big hate depending on where you grew up...when I lived in Mexico, I also discovered chicharrones, fried pork skin of about 20 x 20 cm size sold on wandering market stalls, which I found delicious - and people though I was crazy for eating them! I absolutely LOVE your blog, btw - will stop by regularly, that's for sure!