Farm To Fork: Striper Sashimi For Summer's Dog Days

Striper Sashimi
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While recent rains have brought relief from the August heat, the dog days of summer are far from over. And for those days when it's too hot to be in the kitchen or even to fire up the grill, what better than fresh seafood au naturel?

When you're going to go raw, fresh is definitely the word. To find it, Radio Boston's Anthony Brooks met up with Tremont 647 chef and owner Andy Husbands at Captain Marden's Seafoods in Wellesley. The family-run fish monger dates back to 1945, and has passed through three generations of Mardens — the latest being Kim Marden, who showed Anthony and Andy the latest catch.

Marden's carries mahi mahi from Florida, halibut from Nova Scotia, swordfish from the Georgia Banks, as well as today's star, er, fish: wild striped bass from Massachusetts.

Marden said the striper season opened July 11 and will continue until the fisherman meet the state catch limit.

"It's not a time frame, it's a quota system," Marden said. "And it's just about a million pounds."

And for that reason, the recent summer storms may be good news for striper lovers; the worse the weather, the longer the season.

"Because if the guys can't get out, then every day they can't fish, that's probably about 30 to 50,000 pounds worth of product," Marden said.

And it's hard to find a bigger striper lover than Husbands.

"For me, that's the king of fishes right there," Husbands said. "Striper is my favorite."

Husbands prepared a simple sashimi with a South-Asia-meets-Latin-America style dressing. In minutes, the fish transformed from a filet chilling on ice, to a delicate, inspired summer dish.

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Recipe
Tremont 647's Sashimi Dressing

Yields about 1 ¼ cups

Ingredients:
½ cup hot water

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

¼ cup fish sauce

¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon Amarillo pepper paste (found in most Hispanic markets)

Directions:
Stir the hot water and sugar together until dissolved.

Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and chill until cold.