Paper-thin slices of sushi-grade yellowtail with a single thin jalapeño slice, yuzu-soy and a drop of olive oil — Nobu's most copied dish.
⭐Inspired by Nobu Matsuhisa · 🇯🇵 JapanThis dish channels Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's iconic yellowtail jalapeño — the dish that defined his 'New-Style' sashimi technique and is now widely copied by modern Japanese restaurants worldwide. The technique is pure Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian): paper-thin sashimi enlivened with Latin American chile heat and citrus, finished with a drop of fruity olive oil that bridges Japanese and Mediterranean flavours.
Serves 4
Pat the yellowtail completely dry. Using a long sharp knife angled away from you, slice across the grain into 0.3cm-thin slices, in a single drawing stroke. Don't saw.
Whisk the yuzu juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger. Strain through a fine sieve.
Arrange the slices in a single fanned layer on chilled plates — slightly overlapping. The fish should cover the plate.
Place a single thin jalapeño slice in the centre of each fish slice — one per piece, no more.
Spoon the yuzu-soy carefully around (not on top of) the fish. Finish with tiny drops of olive oil scattered across the plate. Sprinkle with Maldon and micro coriander. Serve immediately.
Sushi-grade fish is non-negotiable — buy from a quality fishmonger or Japanese market.
Slice thin enough that the fish curls slightly under its own weight — that's the right thickness.
Quality olive oil matters here — Nobu uses Spanish or Italian extra-virgin.
New-Style Sashimi (Hot Oil): heat the olive oil until smoking, pour over the dressed fish at the table — the heat 'sears' the surface in 1 second.
Tuna Variation: substitute sushi-grade tuna (akami or chutoro).
Salmon Version: substitute fresh salmon and use serrano instead of jalapeño.
Eat immediately. Sashimi cannot be stored.
Nobu Matsuhisa created the yellowtail jalapeño dish in the 1980s in Beverly Hills, drawing on his Nikkei training in Lima. It is now considered the most-copied modern Japanese dish in the world — versions appear at countless modern Japanese restaurants, almost always uncredited.
Nikkei is the 100+ year-old Japanese-Peruvian fusion tradition created by Japanese immigrants to Peru. It combines Japanese sashimi technique with Peruvian chiles, citrus and herbs. Yellowtail jalapeño is one of its most internationally famous dishes.
Restraint is the point — too many jalapeño slices overwhelm the fish. Nobu's plating discipline at his restaurants is famously precise; one thin slice per piece is the intended ratio.
Not traditionally — but Nobu's bridging of Japanese and Mediterranean technique is part of what made his cuisine distinctive in the 1990s. Use a quality fruity Spanish or Italian extra-virgin.
Yes — fresh lime is the closest substitute and what most home cooks use. Genuine yuzu has a unique floral citrus note but is hard to source fresh outside Japan.
Per serving (120g / 4.2 oz) · 4 servings total
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