No-Fuss Tuna Tartare

I’ve come to think about recipes lately.  It’s a funny thing.  I enjoy cookbooks.  I love gawking at pictures of food and reading recipes.  But I don’t always cook with recipes – more specifically, I’m just too lazy to measure stuff .  Baking is another matter, however.  I don’t mind following such recipes as much.  As for cooking, I prefer freestyle – especially when it comes to Asian cooking.

Well, we had a beautiful warm spring afternoon today so I wanted to make  a light lunch appropriate for such weather.  So tuna tartare it was.  The best tuna tartare I’ve ever had was at Aqua in San Francisco, years ago when I was a West Coaster.  I remember the delicate flavors in the gorgeously presented tartare topped with a raw egg yolk.  The restaurant website posted a tartare recipe, but I was there such a long time ago that I’m not sure if this is the same recipe used back then.  In any case, I was inspired to create my own tuna tartare.

The following are the ingredients that I used to make my tartare, sans egg.  I didn’t measure anything so there’s no recipe.  I just tasted and adjusted the seasonings until the flavors were well-balanced.  More fun that way.

Ingredients

• Sushi-grade tuna
• Soy sauce
• Wasabi
• Ginger, grated
• Lemon (use both the zest and juice)
• Sesame seeds (I used black sesame seeds), toasted – it brings out the flavors
• Sesame oil
• Scallions, thinly sliced

Cut the tuna into small cubes (a super sharp knife helps).  In a separate bowl, mix together soy sauce, a bit of wasabi and ginger, some lemon juice and zest, and a small dash of sesame oil (sesame oil can overwhelm a dish if we use too much!).  Taste and adjust the flavors to how you like it.  I like to taste by dipping a cube of tuna in the dressing.  When you are happy with the flavors, pour a bit into the tuna and mix – taste, and add more dressing if needed.  Stir in toasted sesame seeds and scallions.

Enjoy!