We decided that we should blog on Oyster Motoyaki. It is because we find that we have quite a bit of hits from Google where people were looking for “oyster motoyaki recipes” and landed on our site. In fact, Suanne had never blogged on any Motoyaki recipes at all. Google just picked these words from our All-You-Can-Eat Sushi entries and indexed us. Suanne loves Oyster Motoyaki and makes it a point to order a lot when we have Sushi.
We went to the Real Canadian Superstore to buy some fresh oysters. We bought the larger ones. They come in a bag of six and costs $5.99. Oysters can be eaten in many ways, including raw!
Oysters must be alive before you eat it. It is important to check this. The easiest way to determine if it is still alive is when they are tightly closed because opened ones could already been dead. Try knocking on the shell if the oyster is opened, if it is still alive, it will close when you knock it.
It is not easy to open oysters. Use a short strong knife if you don’t have a shucking knife. Start from the back of the shell and cut the muscle that holds the shell shut. Be careful in applying excessive force because the knife could slip and cut your fingers. Use a wet towel to hold the oyster firmly in place.
The oysters we got were really large, way much larger than the ones we had at sushi restaurants. Oh yes, when you open the shells, keep the shell level. This is because you want keep the “juice” — just don’t discard the juice.
The key ingredient is mayonnaise — not just any mayonnaise but Japanese mayonnaise. Unlike the regular mayo, the Japanese mayo is made with rice vinegar and is yellowish. It comes in soft plastic bottles. Kewpie is the most popular brand … get this one.
Suanne did not have the recipe and so she made it up herself. She added some freshly ground pepper for the extra tinge of spice …
… and added chopped onions for the extra bit of crunch …
… and squeezed the mayo covering the entire oyster …
… and broil it until the top of the mayonnaise is browned. Suanne decided to let it brown lesser than what we normally had. Added some green onions for garnishing.
Not bad for the first attempt. This was delicious and miles better than the ones we had in restaurants. It is soft and fleshy. The mayonnaise does not taste as rich because of the added onions.
Suanne will definitely make it again. This is her own recipe but she is pretty sure that there are other ways or ingredients required. Anyone know and care to share?
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My husband has a recipe like this but it is for Mussels(big ones). He’s using cheese and garlic with a little bit of butter(which I prefer). ‘Might want to try it too!
I love oysters, these look good. The problem with oyster is that I do not know how to shuck them. :(
I eat my oysters with a dash of tabasco sauce. And i have the same problem with shuckling them.. so i can only eat them at a restaurant.
Oyster + mayonnaise and passed under the grill… hmmm, must say it really look s weird for me ;-)
Here, we make some oyster grilled covered with a sabayon of champagne. You prepare a sabayon (italian sabaglione) with some champagne instead of white wine. You cover oyster with this sabayon and you pass under the grill. It’s wonderfull
Looks good enough to me. :)
By the way, what does motoyaki mean?
Sounds about right. I usually add a little Sriracha sauce and tahini to my motoyaki sauce, but that’s personal preference. Oh, and I thinly slice the onions instead of dice them. That way they cook faster and get some caramelization. Red onions work best for this dish.
Hi Sue, I found out from a Japanese friend, Yumico, that moto means that “as is”, “natural”, “from source” and yaki means grill. So, Oyster Motoyaki means oysters being grilled in its natural shell.
Btw, Oyster Motoyaki is created in the Western world and you cant motoyaki in Japan.
Aw shucks, Ben, you’ve inspired me:
http://blog.thisnext.com/blog/aw-shucks.html
Cheers!
They are wonderful with chopped spinach added as well! Had a few of them last night, hence the search today! Thank you so much for all the info! Will try them next dinner party….
My tip: You boil the partially oyster in water or partially bake them in oven to reduce excess liquid from the oyster.
I got the receipe from the above link.
Ingredients:
-1/3 bottle of the Kewpei Mayonnaise (japanese mayo)
-1 egg yolk
-1 tablespoon of miso (the brown one)
-1 tablespoon of sugar
-6 oysters
-just a sprinkle of salt and pepper, not too much
-some chopped onion and mushroom
Directions:
-Mix all the ingredients (except oyster) and stir them slowly into a thick pasty sauce
-cook oyster in boiling water until kind of well done
-place oyster in a baking cup or even oyster shell, one oyster per container
-put sauce on top
*-DON’T put a bunch of oyster in the same container like I did!!! The sauce will become very liquidy when done!!!
-Preheat oven to 400F
-Bake it for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on top
If memory serves me correctly I remember Iron Chef Sakai made an oyster sabayon on battle oyster that looks like oyster motoyaki.
Great article but i always have trouble getting the oysters out of the shell first without damaging the flesh. Just wanted to point people in the direction of a site in the uk where i found a really good Oyster Knife for not a lot of money.
This is my recipe for oyster motoyaki. I like to make my own mayononaise from scratch but the Japanese kind will do just fine. If you are using a store bought mayo the only extra ingredients needed are the miso and egg yolk.
6 Large Oysters
4 Egg Yolks
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Cup Salad Oil
3 Tbsp Light Miso
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Grated Orange or Lemon Zest
1 Egg Yolk
1/2 Onion Chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Steam shucked oysters on the half shell for approximately 10 minutes or until cooked.
Mix 4 egg yolks and lemon juice together with mixer. Continue mixing and slowly pour salad oil into mixture.
Mix in miso, remaining egg yolk, salt, and zest. Then mix in onions.
Place oysters flat on a baking sheet (a muffin tin may balance them better) Spoon mayonaise mixture onto cooked oysters and bake for 20 minutes or until dark brown.
[...] It has too much mayo and too rich for me. Suanne makes this at home and has the recipe here. It’s easy to make … check that [...]
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