Momiji-dai, Autumn Sea Bream, Kombu-Cured with Matsutake

I devised this dish under the theme of matsutake cuisine with a new sense of value. This time, I would like to propose a dish that pairs autumn momiji-dai, sea bream in its autumn coloring, with matsutake and cures both with kombu. Many restaurants have ingredients shipped directly from producers in the regions, but I wanted to create a dish that could set us apart from other restaurants by wrapping in-season momiji-dai in the aroma of both matsutake and cedar.
Curing with kombu for a full 24 hours made the kombu's aroma too strong, so in the end I settled on 6 hours. Matsutake from the Himalayas has the advantage that, because it grows at high altitude, it suffers little insect damage and can be used with little waste. Also, since its aroma and shape are close to domestic matsutake, I used it at a restaurant I worked at previously as well. The matsutake is cured together with the sea bream, but washing it in hot water makes it go slightly limp and improves its texture; since it is also stored together with the raw fish for an extended time, this step doubles as a form of sterilization. Kombu-jime, curing with kombu, causes the kombu to bend, but since I wanted to serve it with the kombu still pressed against the fish, I held it in place using a cedar board. I use cedar boards handmade one at a time by an artisan in Kiso-gun, Nagano Prefecture; both the aroma and the sheen of the wood are better than mass-produced versions.