For many, tasting an oyster for the first time is a memorable culinary milestone. Crisp, icy flesh slides down the throat, sometimes delighting, sometimes shocking and sometimes revolting. Nuanced, briny flavors stimulate the tongue. Consuming something so fresh and dynamic, tasting of the vivacious environment from which it came, titillates thrill-seekers and pleasure-hunters.
I recently brought home a half dozen Kusshi, which are still somewhat rare on the East Coast. Kusshis are grown in British Columbia. The name means “precious” in Japanese and they are known for their deep, cavernous shell which yields plump, soft and juicy flesh, and a clean, smooth flavor.
I love most oysters: big, small, tender, chewy, coppery, lemony, brassy, cucumbery, sweet, melony and creamy. Sometimes nothing beats Wellfleet oysters, ubiquitous on the East Coast, and the very first variety I ever tasted. Eating Wellfleets recalls trips to Cape Cod, the smell of the salty air, the sand between my toes, the oysters tasting sweetly of Atlantic Ocean seaweed. I find myself partial to Pacific Northwest oysters, however, like the Kusshi or Kumamoto, both petite and sweet, tender and juicy.
I hadn’t opened an oyster in over ten years when we brought the Kusshis home. Prying an oyster open is a primal act. A quick twist of the wrist reveals a creature’s habitat, exposing its naked, still-quivering flesh, ready for instantaneous consumption. Eating the tiny bivalve is visceral because of their rawness. Nary a minute lapses between life, death and mastication. Opening an oyster for the first time is thrilling but also an emotional rite of passage.
Oyster purists prefer their bivalves undressed or with a simple squeeze of lemon, revealing their uniquely briny personalities and ocean-salt nuances. I served the Kusshis plain and dressed up with apple kimchi and yuzu mignonette. Kusshis are ideal unadorned, their small bodies tender and fleshy between the gums and their flavor delicate and sweet.
While the apple kimchi is bold and sweet, and packs a spicy punch, it drowns out the naturally mild flavor of the Kusshi. To make the apple kimchi, you can use homemade or good quality store-bought kimchi. Blend it to a near pulp and mix with diced apples. I suggest using apple kimchi for brinier oysters like Kachemak Bay or Island Creek.
For the Kusshi, we preferred the mouth-puckering and citrusy yuzu mignonette to the apple kimchi. For a half dozen oysters I use half a finely diced shallot, or about 1 tablespoon, about 1/2 teaspoon of yuzu juice and rice wine vinegar. The yuzu is tart and briny and brings out the naturally sweet and cucumber flavored flesh of the Kusshis.
I recommend making both the kimchi and mignonette to meet your taste needs. I like my apple kimchi with a lot of kimchi while others tend to prefer it sweeter. In that case, use less kimchi and more diced apple.
Apple Kimchi
1 apple, cut into a 1-inch dice
1/4 cup kimchi
Puree kimchi in a blender to a fine chop but not quite a puree. Mix with freshly cut apples. Serve right away or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
Yield: About 1 cup apple kimchi
Yuzu Mignonette
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon yuzu, or to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste, optional
Combine ingredients and chill. Serve with oysters on the half shell.
Yield: About 1/4 cup or enough for half dozen dozen oysters