Tuna Carpaccio with Wasabi Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tuna steak, about 6 ounces
- Fine sea salt
- 1 medium cucumber
- Sugar
- 1 teaspoon prepared wasabi
- 2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce
- 1 to 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chopped chives
- 2 pieces buttered toast, crusts removed, cut into strips or in half, optional
Method
- Thinly slice the tuna against the grain. If using one thick steak you can cut it in half widthwise before thinly slicing against the grain.
- Sprinkle a medium plate with a dash of salt, arrange half of the tuna slices on top, and then sprinkle the top of the tuna with salt too. Cover the tuna with plastic wrap. Set another medium plate on top. Repeat the salt, tuna, salt and plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day ahead.
- Fill a small bowl with ice water. Trim the ends and peel the cucumber. Using the peeler, slice long strips of cucumber, stopping before reaching the seeds. Turn the cucumber and repeat cutting the strips on the other side. Stack the slices on top of each other, fold in half and then cut into thin strips (julienne). Put in the bowl of ice water with a dash of salt and a dash of sugar. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl whisk together the wasabi, fish sauce and the sesame oil. Spoon the sauce over the tuna. Lift the cucumber from the ice water and gently squeeze, letting any excess liquid remain in the bowl. Arrange the cucumber on top of the tuna, then drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with the chives and serve with the buttered toast.
I like to salt the tuna directly on the plate, cover it with plastic wrap, then stack the next plate on top and so on. It saves a lot of room in the refrigerator as the tuna should cure for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day ahead. This recipe serves 2, but could easily be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled for more guests. If you are using frozen tuna, it will be easier to slice when it is still partially frozen.