Tide to Table
Written by Eleanor Wentworth
Nautilus' Mini Fried Oyster Tacos
When you’re on Nantucket, surrounded by raw bars, it takes guts to reimagine the oyster—but The Nautilus does just that with their crave-worthy oyster tacos. This bold, flavor-packed dish wasn’t born out of a brainstorm, but out of late-night fun behind the line. Long before it hit the menu, chef/owner Liam Mackey and his team were playing around in the kitchen after hours, serving fried oyster tacos as surprise treats for friends dining at The Pearl. “We had amazing oysters on hand and just started messing around,” Mackey recalled.
At the time, he had no intention of putting it on a menu—but the reaction was too strong to ignore. A perfect mash-up of texture and taste, the oyster taco embodies Mackey’s vision—taking what’s local and giving it a whole new life. “It just evolved out of what we had,” he said. Now, it’s one of The Nautilus’ most iconic dishes—and it’s here to stay
INGREDIENTS
3 cups sushi rice
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons salt
Dash wasabi mayo
1 pound shucked oysters
Up to 1 quart canola oil
2 Nori seaweed sheets
Scallions (thinly sliced)
PICKLED VEGETABLES
2 carrots
2 daikon (raddish)
1 cup rice vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 inch ginger
1 jalapeño pepper
KOREAN BBQ SAUCE
¼ cup gochujang
¾ cups sugar
¼ cups soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons cup sesame oil
TEMPURA BATTER
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup all purpose flour
1 egg
Up to ¾ cup ice cold soda water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Rinse sushi rice in cold water until the water runs clear (about 3–4 rinses).
- Combine rinsed rice and 3 to 3½ cups of water in a pot. Bring toa boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Add sushi seasoning (rice vinegar, sugar and salt) to a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until sugar and salt dissolve completely. Remove from heat and cool completely before adding to rice.
- While rice is cooling, slice carrots and daikon into matchstick-size pieces. Set aside.
- Prepare pickling liquid for carrots and daikon: Mix rice vinegar, water, sugar and sea salt with a small knob of ginger (sliced) and a few slices of jalapeño pepper. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Pour pickle brine over carrots and daikon, allow to sit overnight in the refrigerator or until ready to use (keeps for up to a month).
- Make Korean BBQ sauce. Combine gochujang (Korean chili soybean paste similar to spicy miso), sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil, and whisk together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Cut half of the Nori sheets in half, leaving eight sheets. Cut the remaining Nori into small strips.
- Make the tempura batter: Combine cornstarch and all purpose flour. In a separate bowl, beat the egg before adding dry ingredients. Combine egg mixture with some of the soda water until loosely mixed with some clumps. Do not overmix.
- Prepare oysters: Using a fryer or a heavy-bottomed pot, heat canola oil to 365°F. While oil is heating, shuck oysters into a container, discarding shells. Drop shucked oysters into tempura batter and gently coat. Transfer oysters to hot oil, and fry until crispy, turning once. Remove fried oysters to a plate lined with a paper towel.
- Assemble tacos: Place mini Nori strips on a dry work surface. Put a dollop of seasoned sushi rice in the middle of a strip (about the size of a cherry), along with a few drops of the wasabi mayo. Place a single carrot and a single daikon next to the rice mound. Place an oyster on top of the wasabi mayo, drizzle with Korean BBQ sauce and a pinch of sliced scallions on top. Wrap the whole thing in a Nori sheet like a taco using a toothpick to secure the bundle. Enjoy.
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