Salted Sea Seafood & Raw Bar, in Columbia City, presents Smoked Herring Quenelles, a wonderful taste of Alaska Herring a la Vietnam, right here in Seattle.
Wanna make this at home? You can purchase the same Alaska Herring fillets being used by Seattle’s top chefs for Alaska Herring Week from Central Coop on Capitol Hill, Freshy’s Seafood Market on Mercer Island, Old Ballard Liquor Co. in Ballard, and Wild Salmon Seafood Market at Fisherman’s Terminal! Once you’ve done that, here’s the recipe:
Smoked Herring Quenelles by Chef Noah Zavatsky
(makes 10 Quenelles, or about two servings)
Smoked Herring:
Dry brine 2-3 herring fillets in equal parts salt and sugar, by weight, for 24 hours. Cold-smoke (125 degrees) with applewood smoke for approximately six hours.
Đậu Phụ Sốt Cà Chua Sauce (make first):
- 5 roma tomatoes, diced
- ½ cup fish sauce
- 3 tbs. sugar
- 1 tbs. minced garlic
Đậu Phụ Sốt Cà Chua Sauce recipe:
In medium sauce pan, add about 2 tbs. canola oil. Bring to high heat, adding in diced tomatoes. Allow tomatoes to reduce ¼ of the way. Add fish sauce, continuously stirring. Add sugar and minced garlic. Allow tomatoes to break down and reduce until sauce is thick. Adjust to taste.
Panade Ingredients:
- 225 mL whole milk
- 3 tbs. unsalted butter
- 2 cups AP flour
- ¾ cup smoked herring
- ¼ tsp. ground white pepper
- ¼ tsp. ground star anise
- ¼ tsp. fresh ground turmeric
- 1 ¼ egg whites
- ½ cup fish sauce
- 5 whole eggs
Panade recipe:
Boil milk over med. heat. Add 1 tbs. butter and flour, stirring continuously. Continue to cook until mixture is dry. Let panade cool for 2 hours. Puree smoked herring with spices and pass through sieve. Return to food processor. Add egg whites, then add cooled panade. Add whole eggs, followed by remaining butter. Shape into quenelles. Drop in deep fryer for approximately 6 minutes, or until fully cooked, without burning exterior of quenelles.
Serve immediately as follows: fill bottom of bowl with generous layer of warm sauce, top with five quenelles, and top quenelles with another layer of sauce, to coat.
Alaska Herring Week 