Bret, I think it has been a month since I promised to submit more recipes... so here we go. Simple, fast and delicious. Make sure to get high quality, sashimi-grade tuna for this, since it will be pretty raw (for those living in Berkeley, Tokyo Fish Market is the place to go). I found the recipe on BBC's Good Food site.
- 1/2 lbs Hamachi tuna (fresh and almost wiggling)
- 4 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 tbsp sesame seeds (I used sesame salt, a mixture of black sesame seeds and coarse salt sold in Japanese markets)
- soba noodles
- 1 small cucumber, cut into matchsticks
- 4 spring onions, chopped
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp soy sauce (I used the one with less salt)
- 1-inch chunk of fresh ginger, finely grated or chopped
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sugar
Drizzle the tuna with 1 tbsp sesame oil and season with salt and pepper. Roll in sesame seeds until coated. Heat a pan until very hot, sear the tuna on all sides and chill until using. Make sure not to overcook the fish, you want to achieve a nicely seared crust while keeping it raw in the center.
Boil the noodles in salt water, drain and rinse well in cold water. Divide noodles between bowls. Arrange the cucumbers and spring onions on top.
Mix the lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, mirin, sugar and the remaining sesame oil to make a dressing. Slice the tuna and arrange on top of the noodles. Pour the dressing over and sprinkle with some sesame seeds.
Image (c) www.bbcgoodfood.com
