Back me up: seafood dynamite?

[tatamagouche]

Here in Denver, and apparently throughout the West, this dish is all over Japanese/sushi menus. It's basically a gooey seafood casserole. I don't recall ever seeing it in Boston (or anywhere out East). Am I wrong?

[foodperv]

is it make with an asst of seafood or is it mainly that fake crab junk?

[Prav]

Surimi ("fake crab") is not junk and is a pretty important and interesting food product. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surimi

[Guinness02122]

I thought fake crab was usually pollock?

[ScubaSteve]

it is. and it's yummy.

[Eatin in Woostah]

It's pollock, but relative yumminess is debatable. Edible when mixed with mayo and sriracha, I'll give you.

[ScubaSteve]

my father used to smoke it in an old garbage barrel he rescued from the dump. it was Yummy, but it could just be a taste-memory.

i'd love to find a contract smoke house that would do 10-15# batches.

[Eatin in Woostah]

That sounds interesting! Smokey goodness.

[ScubaSteve]

it was. i saw an episode of Bizarre Foods where they had a guy that smokes salmon collars. brought me right back to the olde back yard and for some strange reason Narragansett tall boys. go figure.

[goodhealthgourmet]

prav:

i guess it depends on how you define junk.

personally, i think "junk" is a gentle descriptor for pulverized, gelatinous fish paste mixed with differing proportions of additives such as starch, egg white, salt, vegetable oil, sorbitol, sugar, soy protein, and seasonings...and cryoprotectants if it's frozen.

ick.

[Prav]

(edited because my tone was unnecessarily harsh and I apologize for that)

to each his/her own indeed :)

[goodhealthgourmet]

unfortunately, yes. i've tried it many times...in sushi, and i've even gone so far as to purchase it and try to prepare it at home in a way that i might enjoy.

it's just too sweet and artificial-tasting for me, and i find the smooth, processed/pressed texture wholly unappealing.

anyway, once i discovered that it contains ingredients i make a point not to ever put into my body, i was done with it.

but hey, to each his/her own!

[Prav]

i agree that sweet/fishy don't work too well for me either. :)

[tatamagouche]

From what I've seen, it can be made w/ all kinds of things--surimi, yes, but also mussels, scallops...

[another_adam]

Yes, scallops, white fleshed fishes, crab, or kanikama (a.k.a surimi), all enhanced by mayo! In fact, I used to hate anything that contained mayo, until I was introduced to this by my favorite curry house in L.A. :) I was once told (quite possibly wrongly) that it's a hawaiian innovation--at least in a japanese context--and It's definitely a lot more common in places with a substantial hawaiian population. (Definitely not so prominent in boston!)

[tatamagouche]

I think you're right, there seems to be a Hawaiian connection.

[Ralphie_in_Boston]

I've eaten "dynamite" maki rolls at a couple local sushi places, and the contents were very close to what you describe here. Never seen it as a casserole, but will keep an eye out (on menus and on this thread!)

[Luther]

Yeah, hokkaiyaki. They do a hotate version at Oishii that's served in a half-shell.

[lissy]

This sounds like something I've had at Douzo.

[ScubaSteve]

i've never seen it but the dynamite sauce used is mayo and Sriracha with smelt eggs and krab stick.

[tatamagouche]

Yeah, it's really gross...and really good.

[CambridgeFoodie]

A wonderful appetizer that is served at Ginza as an appetizer under the name Hotake - Hokkaiyaki.

Enjoy!

[tatamagouche]

Ah! So maybe it's more common out there than I thought?

[mikhail]

in my experience it is more common out west, and certainly better done. (several of the LA places i used to go to had it, one had a particularly great version.) the one time i had it at ginza i thought it was much too oily. there's also a version of it at shiki, called Moto Yaki. i really enjoy shiki, but this wasn't their best dish. or maybe it just wasn't what i was expecting, i.e. not the LA style.

[raddoc]

I thought dynamite sauce (as in Sushi by Yoshi) was a mix of Sriracha and Hoisin Sauce. Looking it up, though, the basic sauce is Sriracha and Japanese mayo.

[Gio]

What's the difference between Japanese mayo and Hellman's, for instance?

[ScubaSteve]

Japanese mayonnaise, typically made with rice vinegar, tastes somewhat different from mayonnaise made from distilled vinegar and is yellowish in appearance. It is most often sold in soft plastic squeeze bottles. Apart from salads, it is popular with dishes such as okonomiyaki, takoyaki and yakisoba. It is sometimes served with cooked vegetables, or mixed with soy sauce or wasabi and used as dips. In the Tōkai region, it is a frequent condiment on hiyashi chuka (cold noodle salad).
Kewpie (Q.P.) is the most popular brand of Japanese mayonnaise, advertised with a Kewpie doll logo.
People who are known to like mayonnaise are commonly called mayora (マヨラー) by their friends.

[Gio]

Thank you Steve. I'm guessing "mayora" is not a too derogatory designation????