(Sashimi Soup for Lung Detox)

I once had the pleasure and humor of enjoying a traditional French Bouillabaisse meal – the kind you order 24 hours in advance, the fishermen catch the fish the following morning. Once you’ve been seated, the maitre’dbrings you the the whole uncooked catch of the day – so you can approve or disapprove any of the fish caught. The first course is a saffron fish broth with a crouton topped with a saffron rouille. Rouille is a dip traditionally made from soaking stale bread in hot water and blending it to a cream with olive oil, garlic, lemon and saffron. The second course is the catch of the day broken in pieces with some sparse onion and fennel served in the same saffron fish broth. And the third course is the main dish of fish fillet, or was it whole, braised in the broth, served with veggies on the side. I hope you’re quickly getting my point that this “piece de resistance” is peasant food like so many delectable dishes, where you preserve every bit of food and create something fantastic! Why we should all be paying attention to our traditional family faves, especially if our family tradition is healthy. If not, go back more generations and you’ll uncover something special or be able to invent something new like Japanese Bouillabaisse and Wasabi Rouille, or Sashimi Soup for Lung Detox.

As an “ode” to the bouillabaisse, I made up this recipe for my Easy Detox Class at The Open Center to highlight the pungeant flavors that detox the lung. Any great meal contains all the flavors so this meal can easily be applied for kidney, liver and skin detox, as much as it helps clear congestion from you lungs and upper respiratory tract. It’s also the quickest broth you’ll ever make, without resorting to a bouillon cube. This soup is one of my staples because it’s a good immune tonic any time of year. I once asked a TCM professor the best food for my bronchitis and he said sashimi soup with spicy vegetables… and that’s what I’ve been taking as well as recommending to my patients ever since. As for the rouille, It’s delicious all right, but on a detox, you can’t have bread so I decided to merge it with the hummus concept and use yellow moon dal (split) for this one.

There are 3 components to the recipe

Dashi Stock
Sashimi Soup
Lentil Rouille (bread-free)

Japanese Bouillabaisse with Wasabi Rouille

Dashi Stock

This is the same broth you use to make miso soup. Once you learn how simple it is to make Dashi you’ll be stirring unpasteurized organic miso into this hot stock all day long!

Ingredients:

4 cups water
2×2-inch pieces kombu, rinsed

1 cup loosely packed dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi)l

Directions:

Warm the water and kombu over medium heat: Combine the water and kombu in a 1-quart saucepan and set over medium heat.
Remove the kombu as the water comes to a boil: Remove the kombu from the water just before it comes to a full boil. (Boiling the kombu can make the broth bitter and/or slimy.)
Add the bonito flakes and simmer: Add the bonito flakes, if using, and let the water come to a rapid simmer. Continue simmering for about 1 minute.
Steep the bonito flakes off the heat: Remove the pan from heat and let the bonito steep in the broth for an additional 5 minutes.
Strain the bonito flakes from the both.
Add additional water, pouring through the strained bonito, if needed to make 4 cups.
Use the broth immediately or refrigerate for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Recipe Notes

For vegetarian dashi: The dashi is ready to be used after removing the kombu. No additional boiling or steeping is necessary.
For more deeply flavored dashi, steep the kombu in the water overnight before continuing with the recipe.
1 4″ piece of kombu generally has about 150 mg of sodium – under 10% of daily intake.
Put extra stock into ice cube tray.

2. Sashimi Soup

Adding sashimi to a hot liquid cooks it, almost like lime juice cooks the fish in ceviche- the goal is to have a rare fish. The fish I recommend is the freshest wild salmon or mackerel you can get. These fishes are high in Omega 3 and soothing to mucous membranes – very soothing to throat. Also high in protein, helps with recovery – just like chicken soup.

Ingredients:

1 T favorite cooking oil – I use extra virgin coconut oil – could also use avocado or extra virgin olive

4 cups Dashi Stock
1 cup fresh Shitake mushrooms, sliced
Finely sliced Radish, finely sliced
1 bunch chopped Scallions
Other vegetables (asparagus, bok choy, nappa cabbage, etc)
Freshest Salmon or mackerel sashimi you can get, 2-3 pieces peor bwl
1 sheet Nori, cut into small squares

Directions:

Add oil to a pan
Sautee shitake mushrooms and stir for 1-2 minutes
Bring Dashi Stock to a simmer
Add mushrooms
Turn off heat
Add remaining vegetables,
Ladle soup into bowls – dress with nori and sashimi just as about to serve
Top with Rouille

3. Wasabi Rouille (Makes 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

In the south of France, this sauce is traditionally spread on toasted croutons and dipped into bouillabaisse. This original recipe blends Japanese flavors to complement this particular soup. If oil rises to the top during storage, stir or blend the rouille in a food processor before using.

1 cup cooked split yellow Moong Dal – if cooked just before serving, then the rouille is warm which I prefer
4–6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tbs. wasabi powder (some powders are spicier than others, so if it’s mild you mild add more, if it’s too spicy, adjust to your tolerance
1/2 tsp Sea salt (optional)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2/3 cup olive oil
½ tsp sesame oil (optional)

Directions:

Soak Moong Dal for 3-4 hours. Drain water and add to a pot. Cover with double the amount of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, until the water is absorbed – about 30 minutes. Reserve.
Add lentils to food processor
Place garlic cloves and process until finely chopped. Add wasabi and lemon juice process until smooth. Process 1 minute, or until no lumps remain.
With motor running, add oils in a slow, steady stream until mixture is emulsified into a mayonnaise-like sauce.
Season with salt and sesame oil, if desired.
Add a dollop to each bowl of soup