Tetsuya’s Oysters with Japanese Dressing

If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to dine at Tetsuya’s, an elegant modern Japanese restaurant in Sydney, you may have enjoyed his oysters with a Japanese vinaigrette topped with glowing pearls of salmon roe. A beautiful, elegant way to serve oysters that’s dead easy to make at home!

Tetsuya’s oyster recipe

Tetsuya’s is a fine dining establishment here in Sydney that is set amongst beautiful Japanese gardens yet is located right in the middle of the bustling city. It offers a modern Japanese degustation menu and is, as you probably guessed, a restaurant reserved for very special occasions!

Credited with bringing new-style fusion dining to the Sydney restaurant scene back in the 90’s, it was probably the first time I enjoyed a really oyster served with Japanese flavours. While Asian style oysters are “everywhere” these days, the Tetsuya one remains as a stand-out.

Luckily for me, the recipe is included in his cookbook and it’s really easy to make at home.

What you need

Here’s what you need to make the dressing.

Tetsuya might have a meltdown with some of the substitution options I’ve suggesting! 😂

• Japanese soy sauce – Japanese soy sauce is preferred (I use Kikkoman). But don’t go buy one especially if you’ve already got light soy or another all-purpose soy sauce. Just don’t use dark soy sauce, too intense, it will ruin the sauce.

• Rice vinegar –  An Asian vinegar made from rice. Substitute with apple cider or white wine vinegar (but you’ll lose a bit of the Asian flavour, still tasty though!

• Mirin – Japanese sweet cooking wine that is kind of syrupy, you can get it in the Asian section of regular grocery stores. It really adds complexity into this sauce so highly recommended.

  Substitute with cooking sake, dry sherry or Chinese cooking wine extra sugar. For non alcoholic, substitute with sugar, extra oil and soy (quantities in recipe notes).

• Sesame oil – For a hint of lovely sesame flavour.

• Ginger – Fresh is the only way here!

• Oil – Use a neutral flavoured oil like grapeseed or vegetable oil. Don’t use olive oil or coconut oil, it will add too much flavour!

• Sugar – To balance out the flavour.

Optional salmon roe topping

Then there’s also the option to dial up the fancy factor by serving them with salmon roe on top! These orange pearls are like large balls of caviar with a delicate shell that almost dissolves when you eat it, flooding your mouth with a rich savoury seafood “sauce”. Chefs love it because it looks great and tastes great.

It’s not the cheapest ingredient in the world ($25 for a small 50g jar) but it’s meant to be used sparingly. You’ll only need about 20g (1 heaped tablespoon) for 12 oysters. Find it at fish mongers, some delis and fresh produce stores. For a cheaper alternative, use orange lumpfish caviar which you can sometimes even find at regular grocery stores (~$5 for a tin, fridge section).

How to make Tetsuya’s Oysters with Japanese Dressing

Regretfully, it is rare to find fine-dining restaurant recipes with so few steps as this:

1. Mix dressing ingredients together.

2. Spoon onto oysters, top with salmon roe and chives, if using. Serve!

No video today, because it’s such a straightforward recipe. Also, truthfully, I’m caught up in the throes of last-minute Christmas madness!

For the other 2 oyster recipes I shared today, head here.

Love to know what you think if you try this recipe! – Nagi x

Life of Dozer

Salmon roe is expensive!! You can have ONE.