TTC Culinary Grad and Partner Top Chefs of Oyster Festival Contest!

TTC Culinary grad Michael Clucas, a sushi chef at the popular French bistro Rue de Jean, partnered up with Coast sous chef Julius Kaiser to take up top prize in the Charleston Restaurant Association's Oyster Festival Recipe Contest. Their inspiration was Japan. "We wanted," Kaiser told The Post and Courier, "to bring a little Japanese cuisine and technique and match them with the oysters of the Lowcountry." Their concept: Oysters - New Style Sashimi. One of their offerings was:

Oysters Tataki
1/2 ounce yuzu juice (see cook's note)
5 oysters on the half-shell
5 cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon hot Thai chili sauce, Sriracha brand preferred
Hawaiian sea salt to taste (see cook's note)

Mix the yuzu and lemon juices.
Lightly sear the surface of each oyster with a mini butane torch, but do not cook, leaving it rare. (The broiler can be used if a torch is not available.)
Top the oysters with the juice mixture, a cilantro leaf and a drop of Thai chili sauce. Season with Hawaiian sea salt to extract flavors. Serve immediately.

Cook's Note: Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit. It has a sour flavor with characteristics of grapefruit, tangerine and lemon. It can be found bottled at Asian markets and some gourmet shops. Equal parts of grapefruit and lemon juices can be mixed and used as a substitute.

Cook's Note: Hawaiian sea salt is a clay salt with a bright pink color found in Hawaii. Course sea salt can be used as a substitute.