SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
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A 'new' fish from Hawaii is delighting chefs

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

By HSIAO-CHING CHOU
P-I FOOD EDITOR

You know a fish must be impeccable if chefs can't bring themselves to subject it to a hot pan.
That's the fate of Kona Kampachi, a premium farmed fish that has been impressing chefs in select markets across the country, including Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and New York. Available since September 2005, the fish is recognized for its 30 percent fat content, which ranks it with some of the best wild salmon and means it's high in Omega-3s, and for its mild, unfishy flavor.

It's well-marbled like beef.

"You can taste the fat and it's really good," says Aaron Wright, executive chef at Canlis. "You feel better after you eat it -- like after you have a good sushi meal, you feel clean. You can taste the life in it."

Canlis pairs the fish in a composed salad with Dungeness crab (which sells for $18). Diced Kona Kampachi and crab are dressed with a light lime-mayo mixture and accompanied by fresh blood-orange juice and segments, a sprinkling of Hawaiian sea salt and a drizzle of flavored oil.

"I haven't gotten into cooking it," Wright says. "One of my cooks turned it into poke and put it on taro chips, which all the other cooks loved." Of course, poke -- usually made with cubes of uncooked tuna -- is another raw preparation.

Kona Kampachi, or Seriola rivoliana, is a cousin to the Japanese hamachi, though its texture is more crisp than the hamachi. The fish is native to Hawaii (where it's known as Hawaiian yellowtail or almaco jack) but there isn't a commercial fishery for it because, in the wild, the fish is prone to a poisonous reef toxin and sometimes has worms.

But, Kona Blue Water Farms has transformed the quality of the fish simply by growing it in large, space-age cages submerged in 200 feet of ocean and by controlling what the fish eat. The fish are given no antibiotics or medications, just a pellet feed containing fish meal, fish oil and wheat. The fish meal and oil come from sustainable wild fisheries and the wheat comes from an organic source.

Kona Blue has sent its fish for independent testing, which has shown "no detectable" levels of PCBs or mercury.

"It's being harvested by sustainably minded people and allows me an alternative to present to the guest," says Kevin Davis, executive chef and operating partner at The Oceanaire Seafood Room.

Davis has been serving Kona Kampachi since November after he tasted the fish for the first time during a business trip to California. He serves it in Peruvian sashimi style as an appetizer for $16.95. Raw slices of fish are drizzled with a tiradito sauce of yellow Peruvian chiles, lime juice, cumin, ginger, white wine vinegar, garlic and cilantro.

"Because of the high-fat content, I like acidic sauces, and I prefer it raw because it has a unique texture when it's really cold that reminds me of abalone," Davis says.

Dale Sarver, co-founder of Kona Blue and a marine biologist, explains that the fish also stores a good amount of fat in its liver. Sarver hopes that may be of interest to some chefs.

"We call it Pisces pâté," Sarver says.

The only retailer right now is Uwajimaya, which sells Kona Kampachi fillets for $19.99 per pound. A whole fish runs $9.99 per pound.

The fishmongers at Uwajimaya, not known for being loquacious, sing the praises of Kona Kampachi. "Good fish" is the common refrain.

"So you like this fish?" I asked one of the guys.

"We only eat the good fish," he replied.

While Kona Kampachi, which is the trademarked name of the fish that Kona Blue grows, is considered best raw, it is suitable for cooking. Steamed and served with a zingy sauce is a simple and fast method.

You can use it in almost any preparation that calls for a mild, white fish. Since the fillets aren't more than about an inch or so thick, it doesn't take long to cook a piece. Because of the high-fat content, the flesh stays relatively moist during cooking. Much like salmon, the fat in the Kona Kampachi can cause flareups on a grill, so be aware.

The fish is sold fresh. But I froze a small piece and defrosted it later to put into a gingery broth and the fish still had integrity.

Kona Kampachi is a premium product with a commensurate price. Even the wholesale price of $17 per pound causes chefs to wince. But, as the product becomes more well known and more widely distributed, the price should come down.

Many Seattle sushi restaurants, including Saito Japanese Cafe, I Love Sushi, Kisaku, and Hiroshi, serve Kona Kampachi.

It is possible to buy directly from Kona Blue (www.kona-blue.com), but the overnight shipping from Hawaii can cost more than the fish itself.