Japanese Garlic Oysters

This is the dish of my husband’s dreams, not because it’s particularly difficult but because the sauce is one he had never again been able to find outside after the sushi restaurant he used to always order them at closed down.

It’s a restaurant that had fond memories for him, as it’s where the dojo members and Hagihara-sensei would go to. The food was always top notch and this was no different.

Try as he might, ordering “garlic oyster” after “garlic oyster” at any subsequent Japanese restaurant we’ve been to failed to yield anything like it. He’ll still eat them, but I’ve seen him disappointed enough times that I knew eventually I would have to do something about it. It’s taken so long because I wanted to make sure I had the time to dedicate to both writing and making it.

The good news is that I had tried it a few times before their closure and was able to recreate the garlicky, tangy, buttery sauce. I often make it as gravy for Japanese hamburg steak but this is the first time I truly sat down to make this dish as we remembered it.

The most difficult part of this recipe is actually sourcing fresh and plump oysters but winter is a FABULOUS time to do so, as they are sweet and fat. At a dollar a piece, my local fish monger made a good two dozen bucks off of me today.

You can instead broil the oysters and top with crispy Japanese panko because frying them is an ordeal. It’s also easier to shuck that way–you just pop the top off after they open on their own. My pictures however, show the original way of making them. Another shortcut I take is making the whole sauce into a corn starch slurry first so I don’t have to take that extra step later.

I hope you’ll try it!

Ingredients

• 1 dozen oysters, shucked and patted dry, reserve cleaned shells for serving.
• 1 tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sake (you can sub with any white wine if absolutely necessary)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 3 cloves garlic (or more), minced
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• Lemon zest
• Pinch of MSG (if using)
• Pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon corn starch, plus more for frying oysters
• Vegetable, corn, or peanut oil, for frying

1. Make the sauce by combining water, mirin, sake, soy sauce, corn starch, lemon juice and zest. Gently sauté garlic in butter until fragrant, over medium high heat. Combine sauce slurry into the garlic butter and heat until thickened. Add MSG (if using) and pepper to taste.
2. Heat oil over medium high heat until dropping in a little corn starch yield tiny bubbles and sizzling. Dredge oysters in corn starch and fry until lightly golden.
3. Place oysters in oyster shell halves, top with sauce, garnish with chives or parsley and serve immediately.