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The Invasive Species Menu LOCAL SEAFOOD My life's passion has been to make our restaurant the most wonderful place that I could imagine, and there are endless improvements to be made before we can become the wonderful restaurant that we know we can be. An important goal of ours is to have our cuisine return to the roots of sushi, meaning simply to use what we have available where we live. When sushi first developed, it was inconceivable that people could get fresh fish from anywhere beyond their backyard. There are great ecological benefits to using sustainably produced fish, but if they are produced far away, some of those benefits are negated by the ecological cost of their transportation to our restaurant. Our challenge is not to import an exotic cuisine from afar, but to use seafood that is locally available, and to transform it into a regional cuisine that we can all be proud of, like Clam Chowder in New England, or Crab Cakes in the Chesapeake Bay. There are many environmental problems that challenge the entire globe, and others that are specific to our community; a massive international issue is by-catch. While by-catch is not particularly a problem for us on Long Island Sound, there are specific challenges to the local marine ecosystem that we can try to address. We know that there are invasive species (which are often by-catch) that prey upon the local shellfish population that the local fishing industry depends upon. These invasive species are a vast untapped resource for eating. Just because there isn’t an existing market for these species doesn’t mean they aren’t edible or can’t be delicious; therefore, we have focused on creating a part of our menu that will involve the gathering and eating of invasive species now found in local Connecticut waters.22 By collecting invasive seafood on shell-fishing beds, we are basically providing a free weeding service. We strive to be like the Musahar, the rat-catching people of India, who serve as an ecologically healthy, pesticide-free way of ridding farms of crop-destroying rodents. We hope that this will do a few things. First of all, it could potentially curb the dominance of invasive species in the ecosystem. Secondly, it would provide the seafood industry a greater supply of native seafood, and reduce the stresses on those populations already fished. Finally, we hope that it would encourage greater balance in the inter-regenerative relationship between man and the oceans. If we were to have thirty Miya’s in thirty different places, each one would have a slightly different menu, each reflecting the problems of its local universe. Here is my re-contextualed paraphrasing of something Jesus once said: It’s easier for a camel to appreciate good food than an educated man with a sophisticated palate. There’s something about “culture” that tends to blind us. There’s a part of me that knows that I have to approach food in the way that a creature much less cultured and more innocent than I would; that is to say, oftentimes it is essential to approach food with naiveté, and without expectations or judgment. I find that this approach is especially important when I am working with, or even eating foods that I am not accustomed to. Asian Stalked Tunicate, also known by a the delicious sounding name of Sea Squirt, has taken over what used to be Blue Mussel habitat from Maine to New Jersey. The alien Sea Squirt, which is indigenous to the Philippines, is considered a fouling organism and a pest by the shellfishing industry. In Korea, however, it is considered a delicacy and an aphrodisiac. The first time I ate Sea Squirt, it was prepared for me at a Korean sushi bar in the city. The scrotum-like squirts were arranged like a sunflower in the middle of a bright orange plate. As I bit into a sack, it burst with salty, viscous, warm liquid. Though I couldn’t see the liquid, I could taste that it’s color was yellow like phlegm; and, it took all of my will power to keep it in my mouth and a bit more effort to swallow it. I was not turned on. Yancy said to me once, that Buckminster Fuller recommended that one should dare to be naive. I think it takes a bit of his approach to truly accept new ways of doing things, and this includes eating, of course. The next time I tried Sea Squirt, I scraped one off of a pier. I sliced open its tough outer membrane, which revealed a soft orange flesh, like mango. With barely a pause, I slurped it into my mouth, off of the palm of my hand. Again, I was not turned on, but this time, it was good. The following menu is a concept menu; it is the blueprint that we make before we construct the real thing. In order to create it, I asked myself “what if we were to eat the invasive, highly successful predators of our local ecosystem?” Over the years, I have foraged, fished and hunted lots of different plants and animals; the following are recipes I have created from the invasive ones. *This menu could not have been created without the help of the many biologists at the DEP and NOAA who generously, patiently and enthusiastically gave us their time. In particular, thank you Kristin DeRosia Banick and Walter Blogoslawski. long island sound invasive species menu: stone soup european flat oyster & algae covered rock simmered in a clear sake chicken broth flavored with queen anne’s lace root, wild onions & native morels. served in a large iron pot & de- signed to be shared by a small village/00.00/priceless - free for very special community gatherings nine spice lion 19.5 lionfish is a voracious, highly poisonous, invasive predator that have been compared to locust in their destructiveness. this fish is believed to have been introduced when six escaped from a broken home aquarium florida in 1992 during hurricane andrew. protected by highly toxic hypodermic spines & resembling seaweed, lionfish have no natural enemies. years ago, there was an article in the new york times about how fugu (the deadly pufferfish) consumption had fallen dramatically. Sushi eaters are demanding a new poisonous fish. The abundant lionfish should be part of every exotic sushi menu. served raw & thin sliced with crushed sechuan peppers, roasted seaweed flakes, toasted sesame seeds & fresh chives in our citrusy chinese firecracker sake soy/13.75 the wild swan & kudzu roll native to europe & asia; this bird was introduced to the united states as an ornamental species; first appeared on long island sound in the 1920’s. mute swans damage marshes & shallow water habitats by tearing up vegetation. kudzu, known as the mile a minute plant for how quickly it grows, is in the pea family and was introduced by gardeners to the united states in the 1930’s; it is native to china & japan. it creates a canopy & suffocates native forests. pulled barbeque swan in a steamed kudzu leaf roll stuffed with sticky rice & chopped wild mushrooms. *because kudzu contains oxalic acid, people with kidney problems should not eat it/13.75 sargasso chips red algae came over on the ballast of ships, competes with native species, & crowds out sunlight. seasoned with a olive oil, spicy native honey, lemon salt & sesame seeds then perfectly baked into crispy chips /6.75 wa fu crub recipe european green crabs are an invasive species that were introduced to the united states in the 1890’s. they are voracious eaters that eat the larvae of commercial shellfish species. beer steamed in ethipian berbere spice & served with homemade crab picks made from homegrown bamboo. these crabs are fun to pick at & tasty as any crab you will ever have - like periwinkles, green crabs are a delicacy and do not contain a lot of meat/13.75 new england stalked tunicate chowder the asian stalked tunicate has taken over much of the native blue mussel habitat. an interesting fact: a drug derived from sea squirts shows potent anti-cancer effects. this recipe uses asian stalked tunicate in a coconut cream, oak barrel aged miso whiskey chowder/4.75 pollo frito asian shore crabs invasive species of crab that came over on the ballasts of ships in the 1980’s & competes with other shellfish. in a fried chicken flavored batter basket/8.75 naughty norwegian moon snails are considered pests by local fisherman & are a bycatch of lobstering. they are carnivores that feed on other shellfish by boring holes into their shells. they are considered a delicacy & a natural viagra in norway. grilled with lime juice & a splash of chinese firecracker sake soy 2 pieces/8.75 rip van periwinkle the common periwinkle is one of the most dominant inter-tidal omnivores. it came from europe in the 1870’s. simmered with lots of garlic, ginger & salted chinese black bean/8.75 european flat oyster on the half shell the european flat oyster was deliberately introduced to maine in the 1940’s & competes with native shellfish. served on the half shell with a mouth numbing sechuan pepper lime soy daikon relish/0.75 each aphrolingus consomme bishop’s orchard apple wine is the canvas for our pureed white bean bouillaibase that features fresh local seafood which is the bycatch (starfish, snails, crabs, periwinkles) of commercial fishing. this hearty soup is made from invasive predatory species/3.75 japanese knotweed japanese knotweed is originally from eastern asia & presently thriving in 39 states. listed as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species by the world covservation union. grows quikly in clusters & crowds out other herbaceous species. crunchy, juicy & tart not unlike a granny smith apple; one of the best natural sources of resveratrol which has been shown to have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory & blood-sugar-lowering benefits; served, freshly blanched, in a whole grain roll *contains oxalic acid; people with kidney problems should not eat it/3.75 *the inedible remains of this menu are used to make a rich compost for our gardens, inspired by the way native american fishing tribes would bury fish as fertilizer for their corn, squash & bean crops |
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