Kumamoto Oysters With Ponzu Granita And Tobiko Recipes

Steps:

• Make granita:
• Bring kombu and water to a simmer in a small saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Discard kombu. Transfer 5 tablespoons kombu broth to a bowl along with remaining granita ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. (Reserve remaining broth for another use.)
• Pour granita mixture into an 8-inch metal baking pan and freeze, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork every 20 minutes, until evenly frozen, about 1 hour. Scrape with a fork to lighten texture, crushing any lumps.
• Open oysters and assemble dish:
• Wearing protective glove, hold an oyster, flat side up, and open it at its narrow point with oyster knife. Loosen oyster from top shell with oyster knife if necessary, discarding top shell, then loosen oyster meat within curved bottom shell, keeping it in shell. Discard any loose bits of shell. Arrange oyster on bed of seaweed and repeat with remaining oysters in same manner.
• Top each oyster with a scant 1/4 teaspoon tobiko. Serve granita on the side.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat the lemon zest and lime zest with the sake over medium-high heat until the sake is evaporated. Set aside to cool.
• In a separate saucepan, mix water, sugar, yuzu juice, lemon juice, lime juice, and corn syrup and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring until all the sugar has dissolved, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let syrup cool completely. Add the lemon and lime zest, then pour into a shallow baking dish or plastic container and place in the freezer. (The 6 cup capacity shallow plastic containers with a lid that measure 6 inches by 10 inches by 2 inches deep, and which you can get in grocery stores would be ideal for the purpose.)
• Check after about 2 hours and stir the mixture. After about 4 hours, the mixture will have begun to set up, and you can score the surface by turning a spoon backwards and using the tip to scrape the frozen syrup into "ice curls." Repeat this scraping process periodically, every 2 hours or so, until all of the syrup is scraped into the consistency of water ice. Serve after 8 hours.
• Arrange the oysters on a bed of ice. Top each oyster with 1/8 teaspoon of wasabi and 1/8 teaspoon caviar. Serve with yuzu granitee.