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Written by Mike Plaia
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Originally Published in Nor'east Saltwater Magazine by Eileen Plaia
| Considering the audience I am addressing today, I will briefly touch on the types of tuna I will be mentioning in my recipes and leave the preparation of the catch to you seasoned fishermen out there, who hopefully have been reeling them in!
Bluefin tuna is the most eagerly sought by fishermen. It is highly prized in other cultures, particularly the Japanese and it is often sold as soon as it hits the docks to be exported. It is darker in color than yellowfin, and is used mainly in sushi and sashimi.
Yellowfin tuna is prized for its sweet meat which is lighter than the bluefin. It also is used in sushi and sashimi, and is very good grilled on the barbeque.
Albacore tuna is the fish used for canning. It is delicious poached and used for salad, and it can be pan-fried or grilled on the barbeque, which I prefer. It can be a little dry if overcooked.
Hopefully, you have caught your own tuna or have a friend who shares. If not, it’s time to visit your fish market. When buying tuna its flesh should be reddish in color. As it sits in the display case, the flesh darkens, turning brownish color, a tip-off that the fish is old and should not be purchased. When in doubt don’t be hesitant to ask to smell the fish; it should not smell fishy. Although it’s always best to get fresh fish, I recently tried some yellowfin tuna steaks which were frozen at sea and individually cryovaced, and they were very good. Ask your local stores about them.
And now, here are some recipes for all that tuna you’ve been catching!!
TUNA SALAD
I am a fan of canned tuna, it has its place, but it bears no resemblance to fresh tuna. Once you’ve made your own fresh tuna salad, you’ll see what I mean. It may not occur to many of you, that all those bits and pieces that are created when you are steaking your fish can make a delicious salad. So, here’s a very simple recipe:
2 pounds yellowfin or albacore tuna
1 celery stalk or more according to your taste
1/2 red onion or more according to your taste
2 cups Hellmann’s real mayonnaise (my favorite)
1 teaspoon salt
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut off and discard any dark meat from tuna and try to cut the remaining tuna into uniform pieces.
Put tuna in a large pan, cover with cold water, add one teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains in the center of the fish pieces, about 10 minutes.
Cooking time depends on the size of the tuna chunks. You can test them with a fork.
When cool enough to handle, flake the tuna with a fork or with your hands and put in a large mixing bowl. Add celery, onion, and mayonnaise a little at a time, the same way you would make your favorite canned tuna salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. You will definitely prefer this over the canned tuna any day!
Several of the following recipes utilize soy sauce. If you’re a sushi fan I’m sure you’ll agree that soy sauce complements tuna in sauces and marinades. I like to use Japanese soy sauce and I buy it by the gallon in the Asian markets. It has a very long shelf life, and you can find the Japanese soy in many of your markets in the Asian section. Japanese soy sauce has a lighter flavor than some of the other soy sauces. My favorite brand and the one widely used in the Japanese restaurants and found in the supermarkets is the Yamasa brand and if you are concerned about sodium, it also comes in a low-sodium version.
TUNA TARTARE
You’ve probably heard of steak tartare and may have even tried it, but here’s a recipe for tuna tartare.
8 ounces sushi grade yellowfin tuna
2 teaspoons chopped scallions
2 teaspoon chopped pickled ginger
1 lime
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons wasabi paste
Bread or crackers
Finely chop the tuna and put in mixing bowl.
Add scallions, pickled ginger and the juice of one lime.
Combine soy sauce and wasabi paste and add to the bowl.
Gently mix all ingredients together and serve on crackers, bread, or the following garlic toast.
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Garlic toast:
It seems like an odd combination of sushi ingredients and garlic toast, but it works. Take a good loaf of Italian bread. I have a lack of bakeries in my area so I buy what the supermarkets call “artisan bread”, those loaves that are delivered to the store, such as the ciabatta. I have them slice the loaf; the slices are a little thinner than the standard white bread. I brush each side of each slice with some olive oil and put several slices in a toaster oven or for larger quantities in a 375 degree oven for about six minutes or until brown on the bottom and then flip them over on the other side until brown, about 3 minutes .They will be hot to handle, but as soon as possible I rub a garlic clove over one side of the bread and there you have your garlic toast. This is also good for bruschetta.
Cook’s notes: I’ve seen sushi grade tuna in supermarkets as well as the fish markets. The pickled ginger is available in the Asian sections of the supermarkets as is the wasabi. You can find wasabi in a paste in a tube, or you can buy wasabi powder in a can. I buy the powder and it lasts forever. For the wasabi paste, simply add enough water to some of the paste you’ve put in a bowl until you get the desired consistency of a thick paste. Since the tuna is raw, it is extremely important that you keep the tartare cold. Put the bowl of the tartare into another bowl of ice and serve immediately.
I couldn’t resist putting in one more raw tuna dish before we move on to the cooked food. It seems that sushi and sashimi have moved into restaurants other than the Japanese. Usually you’ll find these dishes in the more expensive restaurants, since the ingredients are not inexpensive. And now the dish has been renamed the Poketini. Pretty catchy, isn’t it? The poke comes from the Hawaiian dish poke, marinated raw fish that does not contain any citrus juice. And the tini comes from the glass in which this is served, the martini glass. It makes a great impression, wow your friends!!
THE POKETINI
8 ounces sushi grade yellowfin tuna
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Dollop of wasabi paste
Cut tuna into 1/4 inch dice. Put tuna and remaining ingredients in a bowl and gently mix. Pile tuna into a martini glass, put a dollop of wasabi paste in middle of glass, and if you happen to have a cucumber in your refrigerator, cut a slice of the cucumber and garnish the glass with it. Makes 2 servings.
Mike, put Poketini4 photo here.
GRILLED MARINATED TUNA
1 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1/2 cup sugar
4 yellowfin tuna steaks
Combine marinade ingredients in a dish large enough to hold the fish. Marinate the tuna for about an hour.
Preheat your grill to medium-high and remove the tuna from the marinade and grill to your liking. Cooking fish steaks is a lot like cooking beef steaks; some people like it rare, red in the middle and more like sashimi, and others prefer it cooked to medium. Fish steaks are more delicate than beef steaks, and like beef but even more so, will continue to cook somewhat after being taken off the grill, so I like to remove the steaks several minutes before the desired degree of doneness.
Cook’s Note: I don’t think anyone will have trouble buying fresh ginger; it seems to be in every supermarket. Leftover ginger can be frozen so I always have some on hand. Break off or cut the ginger in large pieces, wrap it or put it into a Ziploc bag and it keeps for a long time in the freezer. If you need grated ginger for a recipe, grate it while it’s frozen, it’s so easy. If you need diced or minced ginger, you can defrost it at room temperature or if you’re in a hurry, defrost it in your microwave.
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