Tempura Blowfish Po’Boy

It’s a northern Atlantic blowfish (non-poisonous flesh but don’t eat the organs even though it’s tempting) year in the Great South Bay of Long Island! They come in large droves, in cycles of about every 3-5 years. This means… there’s not much else in the water because the blowfish out-competes, eats, and steals the bait of other fish and crabs (at least until the sun goes down as they are diurnal). It’s also like shooting fish in a barrel—they’re what’s considered trash fish (of very little value) with no limits and a voracious appetite, so fishing for them just involves some cheap bait (I use chicken) and a line. Yesterday I went fishing with a friend and pulled up… dozens (60+). Be careful as their teeth can take a chunk out of you (they crush up clams and crabs and coral!) and I almost got bitten when I stupidly reached into the bucket for something.

While delicious (flaky, white, firm and lean meat with very little bones), I used to hate processing these things because their skins are super rough and prickly and I always got scratched up, so gloves are definitely in order if you plan on doing them. I watched a video of a new way to clean them which involved making a cut behind the head through the spine and stabbing a fork into the body and just pulling it out—which cut my time to about two hours to do all of them.

After I cleaned them, I let them sit in the fridge for 24 hours so rigor passes—if you don’t, they will be tough, and I began prepping for the different recipes I planned to make with them so be ready for a week of blowfish recipes!

My kids LOVE fried fish (and my oldest likes the McDonald’s Filet o’ Fish song and will happily blast it into your ear if you ask) so I tempura’d it in a thin batter and that’s what they had for lunch. They each polished off about 6 fish (puffer aren’t huge, and the filet’s are about the size of a fish stick, two to a fish) dipped in soy sauce, along with some congee.

For Adam though, I decided to make a po’boy since I had some brioche buns I needed to use up. Whipped up a cajun style mayonnaise, some juicy tomatoes and spicy arugula, toasty bread and we were a go!

You can also serve this with soba or Udon or even just a bowl of hot white rice, which is always delicious with tempura.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch, more for dusting the fish
• 1 pinch salt
• ice cubes
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• About 40 puffer filets (20 blowfish)
• Brioche buns or rolls, toasted
• 4 tablespoons mayo, mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning (or old bay), 1 teaspoon relish, a bit of lemon zest and juice, garlic powder, dill, black pepper, chili powder
• Arugula or lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Sliced onion (optional)

1. Heat the oil—it’s ready when you drop a few pieces of batter in and creates fast and small bubbles.
2. Combine the corn starch, flour, salt, water, and ice cubes.
3. Dust the blowfish filets with corn starch and dip in the batter. Fry until golden brown.
4. Set on paper towel to keep them crispy.
5. Construct the sandwich by smearing the mayo on the buns, pile high with fried filets, and garnish with tomatoes and arugula or lettuce.
6. Alternatively, regular mayo or a mayo and ketchup mix is fine and delicious.