Fishing and Food, Namu Gaji style

When I was a kid, I only went fishing a handful of times, mostly in Lake Mission Viejo, California where I grew up. Lake Mission Viejo is a man-made lake that is stocked with fish each year. I was never able to really catch anything, partially since my Dad and I only fished from the dock:

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This was in the late 80s, and I'm rocking some tube socks with a stylish one-up, one-down look. Anyway, if you didn't notice, yes, there is an actual fish on the end. This was my first fish I ever caught. I have terrible memories of using cheese marshmallows and some sort of weird cheese paste that we'd roll up on the hook. While it was fun spending time with my Dad, it would have been more fun if we had actually caught something substantial.

Fast forward to now, and I've been fishing a bit more than I ever thought I would. I've been fly fishing in Bend, Oregon twice now for rainbows, and once in Astoria, Oregon for salmon fishing. I soon realized that the San Francisco Bay has some pretty awesome fishing, so I decided to Google a local fishing charter and go at it in my own backyard. 

Fishing Game Charters came up and I got connected with Captain Brian Collier. We rolled out at 6AM on a Thursday morning and about an hour later I was catching a bunch of rockfish. 

Early AM rollout.

A beautiful morning.

A bunch of rockfish!

We tried a bit of salmon fishing but they just weren't biting. So our guides recommended that we go fish for leopard sharks. I had no idea that fishing for sharks in the San Francisco Bay was even a thing, and I've never eaten leopard shark so I was intrigued. Before we knew it, the sharks were biting and I caught myself a few. Here's one:

Before my outing, I had been coordinating with brothers Dennis, Dan, and Dave Lee, co-owners of an awesome restaurant called Namu Gaji here in San Francisco. At Dolores and 18th Street, this New Korean American kitchen cranks out some tasty eats, and is one of my favorite restaurants. I was planning to bring them some fish I caught, and in exchange they would cook it up and let me try some of it. The rest would go to a staff meal and/or snack. 

Chef Dave Lee was telling me about how leopard shark has more "energy" or "qi" (pronounced "chee" in Chinese) and so the fish actually needs to rest about two days before getting filleted. Most fish are best eaten right after death, but leopard shark meat will apparently remain tough unless rested. It's so interesting to learn from chefs who are knowledgeable professionals!

Chef Dennis Lee is skilled with his knife, and when he was harvesting the leopard shark meat, he had to sharpen his knife multiple times through the process. Apparently, leopard shark meat is really tough and dulls a knife faster than other fish and meat. 

Two days after the catch, I went to Namu Gaji with some friends to try the end result. I was anxious to see what Dennis had done with the shark. I decided to let myself be surprised and so I didn't ask Dennis or Dave what to expect ahead of time.

The first dish here is fried shark fillets with a red and yellow pepper sauce and pickled red onions. Quite tasty, and the texture was somewhere in between calamari and chicken. 

Now the next dish was simple, but very tasty. Chef Dennis made a leopard shark ceviche with fried wonton skins, which we used as chips for the ceviche. Quite an innovative combo, the crunch and light, greasy oil from the chips was a nice complement to the tangy, tender shark meat. 

There is something very satisfying about eating something you caught yourself. Not only did I have a fun time fishing, but I had a fantastic time eating my catch, prepared by a well known chef. The arrangement has been extended to my future fishing and hunting trips, so I'll definitely plan on posting more stories as they happen.

Duck? Hog? Tuna? Who knows what's next, but I know I can't wait!

Thanks again to Captain Brian Collier and his brother Dan of Fishing Game Charters, as well as brothers Dennis, Dan, and Dave of Namu Gaji!