Identify this dish...

[buckytom]

thanks jenny, that will help me a lot when i ask the grannies next door about it.

so far, 3 korean acquaintances - all men, have no idea about anything to do with cooking or food stuffs.

[jennyema]

According to my reliable source on Korean cuisine:

"its minari, and its not always used in the kimchi in which you are familiar. it is a watercress like vegetable that is used usually in the summer time with what we call mool-kimchi, which is a refreshing light side dish with less emphasis on the red chili pepper and more on the garlic. "

[Michael in FtW]

Thanks for sending me that link, cipher!

Ok gang - the photo appears to have originated on a blog run by a young lady going by the name Marz. This was on her page titled Japango Omakase

Her description of the dish is: "Fresh oyster with uni, quail egg and the dark brown one I believe was the preserved duck egg white." And, if you click on the photo it takes you to a larger photo with a description under it saying, "Appetizer - Kaki, Uni with Quail Egg" - so anyone who guessed raw oyster, sea urchin and quail egg are right about those ingredients.

The source of the dish was the Japango Sushi & Noodle Restaurant in Toronto, Canada. Going from the info Marz provided on the location I was able to find their on-line menu on a website for an outfit that does restaurant food dlievery. I could not find a website for the restaurant itself.

If anyone lives in Toronto and wants to call them to see if you can get a name for the dish, and what other ingredients we're missing, their phone number is (416) 599-5557.

[jennyema]

You, my friend, have a career as a private investigator!

[buckytom]

lol, ya know, it's pretty close. just add the (fake?) beard and glasses that michael wears, and there ya go.

and jenny, as soon as i mentioned minari, a korean friend immediately knew what you were taking about. it's often used just as we suspected, as a garnishy ingredient like chopped scallion or watercress.
i would be interesting to find out if that's what's in the picture.

[Claire]

Hey, Buckytom, you can move in next door. I'm willing to concede that a man (especially one with a rototiller) can turn up that hard soil much faster, easier, and better than I can. Hubby has limits to the help he can give me, so I just do less and less every year. I've eaten Korean food in restaurants and homes all over the place (most often the DC area, Florida, and out west) (unfortunately the only Korean food around here is a Claire's house) and I think that how much people are willing to adjust their cuisine depends on who is going to eat it. I had potato kimchee in Hawaii, which no one else I've met has ever heard of; it was obviously something the cook came up with when experimenting. My favorite Koreaen place in Florida would put bulgogi on a bun and have the traditional sides for any hamburger or steak sandwich, and it was a to-go hit with the local business people who didn't care for their more traditional dishes.

[glazzguy]

Egg yolk, oyster, fish roe, seaweed, and the orange stuff is either a fish liver??? or more fish roe

[buckytom]

claire, i'll run the tiller over to your house after my neighbors. it might take a while tho. they're pretty slow.

every other year or so i rent a big front tine tiller for a day, and i turn the soil all the way down to the clay. it's a big machine and it weighs a ton trying to lift it into my truck. gotta remember to bring a coupla 2x12's to help roll it in the bed instead of lifting the darn thing.
it's pretty hard to handle. if i were to buy one, i'd get a rear tine. let the weight of the engine do the work, instead if feeling like you're standing behind a mule with a yoke on your neck.

[Sue Lau]

Looks like an oyster with 4 kinds of eggs: quail egg, flying fish roe, sea urchin roe, salmon roe with a pinch of shredded seaweed for color.
A Japanese oyster shooter, basically.
~sue

[ironchef]

Originally Posted by mouse

Looks like an oyster with 4 kinds of eggs: quail egg, flying fish roe, sea urchin roe, salmon roe with a pinch of shredded seaweed for color.
A Japanese oyster shooter, basically.
~sue

There is no ikura or salmon roe in this dish, at least from the picture.