"Ashirai" (Garnish):
Daikon (Japanese radish) 8cm-long piece
Beefsteak leaves 4
Wasabi (Horse radish)
Radish 1
Red polygonum
"Tsukuri" sauce

"Tsukuri" sauce:
"Tamari" soy sauce 1 tablespoon
Dark soy sauce 3 tablespoons
"Nikiri" mirin 1 teaspoon

"Suiji" (seasoned stock):
Stock 200cc
Sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Sake 1 1/2 teaspoons

1. Remove the scales from the fish, cut the belly open and remove the entrails. Rinse well and wipe off the water and black film inside the belly, using a dish cloth.

2. Cut each fish into two fillets and a piece with the head, backbone and tail fin, all connected. Slice the bones on the belly side off the fillets and remove the thin film on the surface.

3. Cut the fillets on a slant into thin strips, and mix with thinly sliced salted kombu.

4. Cut the rape plant in half if too long. Boil it briefly in salted water and soak in cold water. Combine the ingredients for "suiji" (seasoned stock) in a pan, and bring to a boil. Allow it to cool.

5. After the rape plant and the "suiji" cool, combine them and let it stand for 2 - 3 hours. Boil an egg and mash the yolk. Toss the rape plant and the egg yolk together.

6. Cut the daikon into four 1cm-thick round pieces and set aside. For "ashirai" (garnish), cut the remaining daikon into very thin strips called "ken". Remove the stems from the beefsteak leaves. Thinly slice the radish and punch a small hole in each slice.

7. For the "tsukuri" sauce, combine the "nikiri" mirin, "tamari" soy sauce and dark soy sauce.

8. On a serving dish, place each piece with the head, backbone and tail fin on a daikon piece and fasten with toothpicks. On each backbone, place the daikon strips and beefsteak leaf, and then the fish and rape plant over the leaf. Add the horseradish and red polygonum in the front of the dish and top with the sliced radish.

9. Serve with the "tsukuri" sauce.

Special Words for Cooking:

• "Matsumae" : Back in the Edo period, kombu was sent to the capital from the Matsumae clan in Hokkaido. So the word is used for dishes having kombu as an ingredient.
• "Ashirai" : Sub-ingredients, mainly vegetables, used to enhance the main ingredient. will make this procedure easier.
• "Nikiri" : Boiling mirin or sake before use to remove alcohol, any undesirable smell and bitter taste.
• "Suiji" : Seasoned stock
• "Ken" : Vegetables sliced needle thin and used to garnish sashimi (a dish of uncooked fish).