Oysters with Rice Wine Vinaigrette

During my recent trip back home, my Aunt decided to throw a quick dinner party together, and I was told that I'll be responsible for the Oysters.

I thought... Great. I can do Oysters. Au Naturale ... Kilpatrick .... Sorted :)

And then I found out she ordered 10 Dozen Oysters. TEN Dozen...! that's 120 Oysters!!!

My mother's oven would only be able to do 2 dozen Kilpatrick oysters at a time.

So I quickly googled around for something that would be quick and easy to put together (since I still had to whip up the Kilpatricks - my mother's favourites). This one that I came across from Not Quite Nigella stood out from the rest. It looked simple, fresh and very easy to put together.

After tasting the Vinaigrette however, I did kind of twitch the recipe a bit. I added a bit more ginger, light soy and reduced the amount of oil. So you may want to do the same and taste as you go and add or subtract as required. Basically, you want a vinaigrette that doesn't overpower the oysters, but still want to taste the vinaigrette and not just oil.

Oysters with Rice Wine Vinaigrette
As seen in Not Quite Nigella - Tetsuya's Oysters

Ingredients:

• 12 Large Oysters Shucked (I had Coffin Bays - but any large creamy tasting oyster will do)

Vinaigrette:

• 2 teaspoon ginger (finely grated)
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (Japanese brand preferred)
• 1 teaspoon castor sugar
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons grape seed oil
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Garnish:

• 4 stalks of Chives (finely chopped)
• 3 tablespoons Salmon Roe

Optional:

• Rock Salt for Oysters to rest on

Method:

1. If using, place rock salt on a serving plate and arrange oysters to top
2. To make the Vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl, taste and adjust the amount of sweetness (sugar), saltiness (light soy) or tang (lemon juice) as required
3. Spoon about a tablespoon of Vinaigrette into each oyster
4. For each oyster, sprinkle a pinch of chive and divide the Salmon Roe between the oysters evenly.

Notes:

• I left the skin on the ginger, and used a lemon zester to grate the inside flesh of the ginger
• The Vinaigrette recipe from NQN was for 12 Oysters, but I found I had more than enough for about 4 dozen oysters.