Authentic Japanese Cooking: Clear Soup with Kombu-marinated Tai Fish

Our theme for this episode is marinating. We'll be sandwiching slices of fresh tai sea bream between pieces of kombu kelp, to give the tai lots of rich flavor with a technique known as kobujime. That marinated tai will then serve as a main ingredient in a clear soup. We'll also be making steamed crab rice, featuring the richness of dashi, the distinctive flavor of crab, and the chewy texture of mochi rice. Steaming it in containers made of hinoki cypress gives it a wonderful fragrance to round off its elegant blend of textures and rich, aromatic flavor.