Busy? Keep Dinner Simple with Furikake Mahi

Well, all of a sudden summer is coming to an end. Those hazy, lazy days of impromptu picnics, cookouts and late nights are turning into a little more hectic time of year for many of us. This is a good time for easy to prepare dinners that are fast but still delicious and nutritious.

I brought home a fillet of mahi mahi last night with plans to grill it but got sidetracked and before I knew it was getting late. Plan B would have to be something real simple. Searching the pantry for ideas I came upon a jar of furikake, a dried rice seasoning usually made with sesame seeds, seaweed and dried ground fish like bonito or salmon. The Japanese mainly use it over rice but you can sprinkle it over a salad, eggs or just about anything that you want to liven up and add a touch of umami to. I even came across a Chex mix recipe using furikake. Thinking why not try it on this fillet of mahi mahi, I did a little Googling and found that the Hawaiians have been using furikake on fish for a long time (so much for my creative “original” idea).

There are many different types of furikake but the two types I happened to have were Yasai Fumi Furikake, which is made with sesame seeds, carrot, spinach, pumpkin, celery, sugar and salt and Seto Fumi Furikake which has similar ingredients but also contains shaved bonito. They are both so good that you just want to snack on them right out of the jar. Either one of these types would have been great with the mahi mahi so I decided to use both. The Seto Fumi Furikake had the great smoky umami flavor of the bonito flakes and the other had added veggie flavor and the nori (seaweed) was cut in longer strips (better eye appeal). Next step was to baste a little mayo on the fillet, coat with a mix of panko crumbs and furikake, pop in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 10 minutes per inch of thickness and voilà! A not so original, but super easy and tasty dinner with a real wow factor.  Enjoy

Recipe: Furikake Mahi Mahi