Kona Kampachi

I have never eaten fish this good before. Melt-in-your-mouth good.

There has been a lot of buzz in the foodie blogs lately about Kona Kampachi, aka Hawaiian Yellowtail. Kona Blue farm-raises it in the open ocean off Hawaii.

Kona Kampachi is sushi-grade, but getting my family to eat raw fish is something that is just not gonna happen. So I would have to cook it, but I wanted to prepare it without relying upon a sauce so that I could really experience the taste if the fish itself.

I borrowed some ideas from a recipe I found on the Kona Blue website. I sauted it over medium-low heat in a non-stick pan (Anyone that tells you a non-stick pan won’t brown food has never owned Scanpan) and served it over a bed of sauteed Swiss Chard. BTW, this is a very fatty fish (That’s good fat, not bad fat) Even thick portions sauteed easily without drying out.

My wife loved it. And my wife is not a fish lover. My son cleaned his plate. It melted in my mouth. A couple of interesting health facts about Kona Kampachi:

• It is very high in Omega-3.
• There is no detectable mercury in Kona Kampachi

It is expensive. At $17/pound plus Fed-Ex 2-day shipping, it’s not something I will serve every day. On the other hand, this stuff is so good that it is worthy of special occasions and certain dinner guests.

On the other hand, Kona Kampachi is so good I will probably serve it often despite the price. I’m serious when I say that I’ve never tasted fish this god before. I have one more fillet left (and the fillets are HUGE) and I’m already trying to figure out a way to prepare it that will do it justice.