Japanify: Avocado Sashimi with Yuzu Kosho

Avocado sashimi with yuzu kosho is the easiest dish to make. It's great to serve your guests before the main course. It's also an ideal option to serve yourself when you are feeling really lazy but a little fancy. I prepare this for myself when I am craving something heavier than a salad and more importantly, when I don't feel like having a sinkful of dishes.

Avocado was one of the few produce items that were reasonably priced in Tokyo. I often bought one avocado for 98 yen. These fruit are so popular in Japan, you see it them integrated into aemono (dressed dishes), sauces and served plain with condiments.

Yuzu kosho is a pasty, peppery condiment made with yuzu zest, chili peppers and salt. It looks like a grainier, watery cousin of wasabi. It tastes tangy from the yuzu citrus and a little bitter from the peppers. It is often served with grilled chicken. But its firecracker personality goes especially well with the buttery, smooth texture of avocado. Coupling yuzu kosho with avocado also gives people who have never tried yuzu kosho a pure, uninterrupted taste of the condiment.



Yuzu kosho can be purchased at Japanese markets and sometimes in Chinese and Korean markets. A simple search on the internet also yielded a list of yuzu kosho available through that online megastore that seems to sell everything (Amazon).

1. Choose a ripe avocado. Cut in half.



2. Peel away the skin carefully. This avocado was a little overripe and the skin came off in pieces. Not so pretty.



3. Cut lengthwise in about eight pieces. Plate however you'd like. I garnished with some red shiso leaves that my sister gave me from her beautiful garden. I poured a few drops of soy sauce on the avocado for a little bit of flavor.

4. Add a dab of yuzu kosho on the side.









Talk about lazy-ass "cooking". (Unless you decide to make the yuzu kosho yourself.)