Tuna Poke
This is a dish that comes from Long Island, New York, not the Big Island of Hawaii, a Northeastern take on a Pacific classic. I’ve made it with Atlantic bonito caught offshore and yellowfin tuna bought at the market, the meat trimmed, cubed and mixed with sesame oil and soy sauce, a little chile-garlic sauce and lot of chopped scallions. I top the salad with roasted macadamia nuts and a few vigorous shakes of furikake, a Japanese seasoning that is made of sesame seeds, dried fish and seaweed, salt and sugar. It makes for about the most delicious eating in the world.
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 1 ½pounds sushi-quality tuna loin, thick-cut
- 1small red onion, peeled and sliced very thin
- 4scallions, trimmed and both green and white sections thinly sliced
- 3tablespoons soy sauce
- 1tablespoon sesame oil
- 1teaspoon mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
- 1teaspoon chile-garlic sauce, or to taste
- 1 ½tablespoons furikake (a dry Japanese seasoning made of a mixture of dried fish and seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, sugar and other ingredients) or sesame seeds, or to taste
- 1cup roasted macadamia nuts, optional
Instructions
Step 1
Carefully cut the tuna, against the grain, into thick planks of 3/4 inch, and then into 3/4-inch cubes. Place cubes into a large bowl, and add to them the onion and scallions.Step 2
Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin and chile-garlic sauce in a small bowl. Whisk together, and adjust seasonings to taste.Step 3
Pour the sauce mixture over the fish, and toss gently to combine. Sprinkle the furikake or sesame seeds over the fish, toss again gently, then cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour or two to chill. Serve with the macadamia nuts, if using, scattered over the top.