Tako Nikkei

Tako Nikkei sits at the meeting of two Peruvian habits: the country's deep love of charred, skewered, aji-marinated grilling — the world of anticuchos — and the Nikkei kitchen's confident handling of seafood, born of Japanese immigration to Peru from 1899. The glaze borrows the anticuchera marinade, traditionally built on aji panca, garlic, cumin and vinegar, and turns it toward soy and ginger; the name's use of tako signals the Japanese frame. It is a modern grill-style plate of the Nikkei repertoire rather than a single historic recipe, and is usually offered as a hot counterpoint to the cold octopus dishes of the same table.

Charred, smoky edges giving way to tender octopus, glazed in a sauce that is deep red-brown, savory and faintly sweet, with the fruity warmth of aji panca and the salt of soy. The contrast of crisp grilled surface against soft flesh is the draw, and a squeeze of lime cuts the richness. Unlike the cool olive version, this one is meant to be eaten hot off the grill.

Octopus must first be poached slowly — 45 minutes to an hour — to break down its collagen and turn tender; only then does it grill well, since the fire is there for char and flavor, not to cook it through. Over high heat the surface dries and browns through the Maillard reaction, building smoky, savory crust, while the sugars in the soy-and-aji glaze caramelize and lacquer the tentacle. The anticuchera base — aji panca, garlic, cumin, vinegar — is layered with soy and ginger so it reads at once Peruvian and Japanese; brushing it on near the end keeps the sugars from scorching before the octopus is marked.