Tuna Tartare with Yuzu and Wasabi
Source of Recipe
from the book Flavor
List of Ingredients
1/2 mango, peeled
8 oz fresh pineapple (presliced by your grocer or from about 1/2 medium pineapple)
1-2 tsp wasabi paste
2 Tbs yuzu juice, or 1 Tbs grapefruit juice plus 1 Tbs lime juice
1 tsp fish sauce
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch salt
12 oz sashimi-grade tuna, skinned and cut into 1/2-inch dice
ground pepper
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into thin squares 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch
small fresh cilantro sprigs to garnishRecipe
Cut flesh from mango half into small (about 1/4-inch) dice. Measure and reserve 3 tablespoons of mango scraps. Seperate about one-third of the pineapple and cut into small dice, the same size as the mango dice. Combine diced mango and diced pineapple in a blowl and toss to combine. Coarsely chop remaining pineapple and place in a blender along with reserved mango scraps and 1 teaspoon of the wasabi paste. Pur�e until smooth. Add yuzu juice (or grapefruit juice plus lime juice), fish sauce, cayenne pepper and salt. Whirl to combine. Taste. Pur�e should be tangy and pleasantly sweet; incorporate more mango for sweetness if necessary. Place diced tuna in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the pineapple-yuzy pur�e, diced mango and diced cucumber and toss to coat. Plate immediately: in the center of a plate, make a circle with a quarter of the tuna. If you have a round cookie cutter or ring mold, use it to build your stack. Place tiny dots of wasabi paste in a random pattern over the tuna. Spoon some diced mango and pineapple over the fish, and layer cucumber squares on top of the fruit. Garnish with the cilantro sprigs. Assemble 3 more appetizers and serve immediately.
This may come as a surprise: the best tasting tuna is not colored solid ruby red, but is rippled with white swaths of fat -- a fact that has been the secret of sushi chefs and connoisseurs for too long. A fatty tuna like bluefin should be chosen for this dish, as its richness will mellow the heat of the wasabi. Yuzu is a small Japanese citrus fruit and its juice is a staple in Union Pacific's kitchen.
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