Diana Dunkelberger gets the scoop on yummy local edibles. View her last installment here.
For this week’s installation of The Larder, we’ve gotten some help from Sylvan Mishima Brackett, the longtime assistant to Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, and the owner of Peko-Peko, a fantastic Japanese catering company that specializes in the robust fare of the izakaya (Japanese tavern). Sylvan, who was born in Kyoto, named his company after a rather onomatopoeic Japanese word that means “really really hungry, like spikes of pain are ripping through your body.”
These days, when Sylvan is “peko-peko,” he prepares Rex Sole Karaage. (“Karaage” is a Japanese cooking technique that involves marinating meat and then deep frying it. In this case, Rex sole, a delicious type of fish.)
The king of sole, delightfully fried. Photos by Aya Brackett
Sylvan’s favorite place to buy fish is the eco-conscious Monterey Fish Market at Pier 33, which sells sole caught 150 miles up the coast in Fort Bragg for the very affordable price of $5.99 per pound. Sylvan first discovered this recipe while he was working at a Japanese restaurant in the countryside, two hours away from Tokyo, surrounded by rice paddies. For him, the best part of this dish is that you can eat the entire sole — crispy, crackly bones and all.
RECIPE: REX SOLE KARAAGE