This is one of my favorite dishes from “Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art” that is surprisingly easy to make and absolutely delicious. As often in Japanese and Italian cooking, the key is in the quality of the ingredients. I used very fresh line-caught sea bass from the North Sea. You just wrap the ingredients in foil and cookt them in a hot oven for a bit, that’s all! It may not look like much in the photo, but you better believe me that the taste is outstanding. I adapted the recipe and made it even more simple, since there is no good reason to parboil the shrimp in advance.

Ingredients

For 4 servings

450 grams (1 pound) sea bass fillets

4 jumbo shrimp (peeled and deveined)

150 grams (1/3 pound) boneless and skinless chicken thighs

8 shiitake mushrooms

4 Tbsp butter

4 lemon slices

2 Tbsp saké

Japanese soy sauce

Preparation

Cut the fish into 4 equal portions and season with salt about half an hour before.

Cut the chicken into 2 cm (1 inch) pieces.

Remove the tough stems from the shiitake mushrooms and cut into 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) slices.

Preheat the oven to 250C/475F.

Take four 30 cm (12 inch) square sheets of aluminum foil. Butter the center of each sheet.

Arrange the fish (skin side up) with the shrimp and mushrooms on top and some chicken pieces around.

Top with a slice of lemon, a bit of butter, and 1/2 Tbsp saké.

Fold into a packet and make sure it is tightly sealed. Cook for 17 minutes at 250C/475F.

Let your guests open up the packages themselves. The smells that will come out of the packages are amazing. Serve with soy sauce for dipping.