The Film:
The Dish
The Reason:
A steady diet of vodka martinis, yellowtail sashimi platters, quaaludes and cocaine. That should get you on the way to emulating the 90’s Wall Street excesses of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo di Caprio) in Scorcese’s latest three hr epic. It’s reported that in filming the final scene between Jordan Belfort and his number two (Jonah Hill) a late improvisation resulted in Leonardo di Caprio having to consume 70 pieces of sashimi to get a consistent take. Di Caprio was then violently sick. You don’t have to go that far. Instead, portion out a sensible 100 g portion of yellowtail/kingfish into sashimi. Slice it smoothly. Kill two birds with one stone and cure your fish in your martini for 10 minutes (make sure your martini is as dirty as Belfort’s financial dealings- the olive brine will help add some acid and additional seasoning). Garnish the platter with a few touches of smoked sea salt (if you’re lunching somewhere where cigar smoke is frowned upon), some slivered olives and dots of sauce as hot as Belfort’s Duchess of a wife. Then throw slivers of parsley around with the same abandon as traders at Stratton Oakmont do greenbacks. If you find yourself with some vodka left over, feel free to insist that someone brings your table two martinis every 5 minutes until someone passes out. Or the bottle is empty. Or the Feds arrive. Whichever comes first.
The Way:
Serves 2
Shopping/foraging
200 g sashimi grade yellowtail/ kingfish, skinned, boned and cleaved into sashimi slices
2 tbsp vodka
1 tbsp olive brine
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
hot sauce and smoked sea salt to serve
Here’s how we roll
1) Steep the sashimi slices in the vodka and olive brine for 15 minutes before serving.
2) Top the drained slices with the sliced olives and parsley. Dot with hot sauce and sprinkle with smoked sea salt. Drizzle some of the curing liquid over the top, or serve on the side as a dipping sauce. Quaaludes and additional martinis are optional.
