Fast-Cure Lomi-Lomi Salmon
Kāmano Lomi·(kah-mah-no loh-mee)
Sunday Ohana Suppers
Forty-five minutes. That is the exact window required for Diamond Crystal kosher salt to firm a fillet of sockeye and deliver the taste of the Sunday lū'au. Instead of importing barrels of salt-cured fish and soaking them for days, we use fresh, sushi-grade salmon and a fast, high-surface-area cure. 'Lomi' means to massage, an essential mechanical step. After a brief stint in the fridge, rinse off the salt. A gentle kneading by hand to break the tomatoes into the fish's fat, and a handful of crushed ice at the end creates the freezing, savory broth. Fold in sweet yellow onions and get the bowl on the table.
Ingredients
- sushi-grade salmon1 lb
- kosher salt1 1/2 tbsp
- raw sugar1/2 tsp
- Roma tomatoes4 med
- sweet onion1 med
- green onions1 bunch
- crushed ice1/2 cup
- red pepper flakes1 pinch
Method
- 01
Toss the cubed salmon with the kosher salt and raw sugar in a non-reactive bowl.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours. Cubing the fish first rapidly increases the surface area, yielding a traditional cured texture without a three-day wait.
- 02
Add the prepared tomatoes and onions directly to the cured salmon.
Do not rinse the salmon. It is crucial the tomatoes are fully seeded beforehand, or the mixture will turn into a watery soup.
- 03
Massage the mixture vigorously by hand until the tomatoes release their juices.
This is the "lomi". Knead the ingredients for one to two minutes so the acidic tomato juice emulsifies with the salt and the salmon's natural oils. You cannot achieve this with a spoon.
- 04
Cover and chill the mixture for an additional thirty minutes.
This rest period allows the distinct flavors to marry into a cohesive salad.
- 05
Fold in the crushed ice and the optional red pepper flakes immediately before serving.
The ice drops the temperature to freezing cold while slightly diluting the cure, generating the dish's signature savory, slurp-able broth.
Notes
Never use iodized table salt.
Its fine grain will catastrophically over-salt the fish, and the iodine imparts a harsh metallic taste.
Use high-quality, safe-to-eat-raw salmon.
Because this fast-cure method does not destroy pathogens like a traditional multi-day heavy salt cure, seek out commercially flash-frozen "sushi-grade" or "sashimi-grade" fish.
Soak standard onions in ice water if sweet onions are unavailable.
If you are forced to use a sharp yellow or white onion, soak the diced pieces in ice water for 15 minutes and drain well to remove the harsh sulfuric bite.
From Cook Hawaiian in America.