5 Japanese dishes from the Konro Grill

By Ralph de Kok · Video 19:36

Ralph de Kok prepares five Japanese dishes on the Konro Grill: from wagyu sukiyaki to salmon, prawn skewers and tuna.

The Konro Grill is a ceramic barbecue from Japan that reaches extremely high temperatures and emits a great deal of radiant heat. The thin stainless-steel grill ensures that contact heat is kept to a minimum. Using binchotan – a type of charcoal that reaches around 1,000 °C and burns for a very long time – Ralph prepares five Japanese dishes, briefly marinated in Japanese seasonings.

Ingredients

For the dishes

• fresh tuna
• fresh salmon
• A5+ Wagyu beef, sukiyaki (thinly sliced)
• prawns, peeled
• king boletes, cut into long, thin slices
• shiitake, with the stalk removed
• beech fungi
• Japanese soya sauce
• ponzu (or, alternatively, rice vinegar or lime juice)
• sesame seeds
• green asparagus, cut lengthways into strips

For the lacquer sauce

• ⅓ red chilli, sliced into rings
• 4 slices of fresh ginger
• peanut butter whisky liqueur (Five O’clock) or Frangelico
• a dash of soya sauce
• a dash of honey
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• juice of 1 lime
• a paste made from 1 tablespoon of cornflour and a little water

Preparation

1. Light the barbecue and set it to the highest possible temperature.
2. Thread the prawns onto a skewer and brush them with hot miso sauce.
3. Cut the salmon and tuna into thin slices and pour a little Japanese soya sauce over them; leave to marinate for a while.
4. Make the glaze: pour a little liqueur into a small saucepan and add all the other ingredients, except for the cornflour slurry. Stir well and let it reduce slightly.
5. Remove the ginger and chilli, add the cornflour slurry and continue to reduce until you have a slightly thicker sauce.
6. Cut the king bolete slices crosswise and brush them with the glaze.
7. Cut the beech mushrooms from the log and pour a little ponzu and Japanese soya sauce over them.
8. Grill the king boletes and chanterelles for a few seconds on each side, then place them on a plate.
9. Sprinkle the salmon with a little sea salt, grill for a few seconds on each side and place on a plate.
10. Grill the tuna for 30 seconds on each side, brush with a little more Japanese soya sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds and place on a plate.
11. Grill the prawn skewers for a few seconds on each side until they turn pink, then place them on a plate.
12. Grill the shiitake mushrooms for a few seconds and add them to the salmon sauce; they’ll continue to cook in it for a little while.
13. Grill the Wagyu slices for no more than 10 seconds on each side, sprinkle with a little salt and place on a plate.
14. Brush the asparagus strips with a little olive oil, grill on both sides for a few seconds and place on a plate.
15. Arrange everything on a single plate and enjoy the flavours of Japan!