Ahi Tuna Rolls
Even though our tuna season is over, here are two recipes that can be used for appetizers or entrees. You can make them as spicy as you would like. The Tempura Roll in the photo was cooked medium-rare, although you could always prepare it rare with hotter oil and a larger piece of tuna to give you a larger diameter roll. What’s best is that these do not require special equipment or a high level of skill to prepare.
AHI-CRAB ROLL
SEAWEED SALAD/SWEET SOY SAUCE
Yield: 2 Rolls, 8 pieces per roll
9 ozs. Sushi Grade Ahi Tuna
1 pound Crab Meat, drain out all excess water
2 TBSP. Mayonnaise
½ TBSP. Vietnamese Chili Paste
1 tsp. Chopped Serrano Chili
1 tsp. Chopped Cilantro
2 TBSP. Sweet Soy Sauce (Eel Sauce) (Found in all Asian markets)
1 tsp. Prepared Wasabi
- Mix the crab meat with mayonnaise, chili paste, Serrano chili, cilantro & 1 TBSP.(half) of the eel sauce. Mix everything well and hold in refrigerator.
½ Cup Seaweed Salad (Found in Asian markets)
1 TBSP. Pickled Ginger, chopped fine
- It is best to work with a long, rectangular piece of tuna for this recipe, preferably 5″ long x 3″ wide x 1″ thick. Most tuna we catch offshore here have top loin sections that can be cut into this size piece.
- Cut the tuna in half lengthwise. Place one piece of the tuna loin in between a double thick section of plastic wrap. Using a flat sided meat mallet, gently pound out the tuna to 7″ long x 4″ wide x ¼” thick.
- Take a fresh piece of plastic wrap and place the tuna on top. Spoon the crab meat at the bottom of the piece of tuna. Start rolling the tuna from the bottom using the plastic wrap to help compress the tuna around the crab in order to form a long roll. Remember to keep the tuna wrapped with the plastic and gently roll the plastic on the cutting board to help tighten up the entire roll.
- Using your favorite sharp knife, slice of the end sections and cut the roll into eight pieces, still with the plastic on the out side. Find the end of the plastic and gently unwrap each piece of the roll.
- Place as many pieces of the roll on a cold plate, top with seaweed salad then top with ginger.
- Drizzle the eel sauce over the tuna rolls and you are ready to go.
TEMPURA AHI-ASPARAGUS ROLLS
CUCUMBER-CARROT SALAD
Yield: 2 Rolls, 8 pieces per roll
9 ozs. Sushi Grade Ahi Tuna
2 Medium Asparagus Spears, blanched, cut 7″ long
2 Sheets Nori Seaweed Paper
Tempura Batter, premade, follow directions on box
2 TBSP. Eel Sauce
1 each English Cucumber, seeded, sliced thin
1 each large Carrot, peeled, cut in half, sliced thin
1 TBSP. Chopped Cilantro
1 TBSP. Seasoned Rice Vinegar
½ TBSP. Olive Oil
½ TBSP. Plum Wine
To Taste Salt, Black Pepper, Crushed Chili Pepper Flakes
- It’s best to first prepare the cucumber salad for this to give it time to marinate and soften up.
- In a mixing bowl, add the sliced cucumber, carrots, cilantro, rice vinegar, olive oil, plum wine and then season with salt & pepper to taste. Hold in refrigerator to keep cold.
TEMPURA AHI ROLL
- It is best to work with a long, rectangular piece of tuna for this recipe, preferably 5″ long x 3″ wide x 1″ thick. Most tuna we catch offshore here have top loin sections that can be cut into this size piece.
- Cut the tuna in half lengthwise. Place one piece of the tuna in between a double thick section of plastic wrap. Using a flat sided meat mallet, gently pound out the tuna to 7″ long x 4″ wide x ¼” thick.
- Take a piece of fresh plastic wrap and place the tuna on top. Place a 7″ spear of asparagus on the lower section of the tuna. Start rolling the tuna from the bottom using the plastic wrap to help compress the tuna around the asparagus spear in order to form a long roll. Remember to keep the tuna wrapped with the plastic and gently roll the plastic on the cutting board to help tighten entire roll.
- Take a standard size piece of Nori seaweed and lay it flat on a new, dry piece of plastic wrap. Remove the tuna/asparagus roll from the plastic wrap and place it on the lower section of the Nori seaweed. Gently roll the roll until it is fully wrapped with Nori on the outside. Cut off any excess Nori as you don’t need to make too thick of an outside wrapping. You will notice that the Nori will soften as it absorbs liquid from the tuna.
- Have a fryer with oil at 350F ready to go before moving on to the next step. You can pan fry with at least 1″ of oil, but it’s preferable if you have a good 3″ of oil in order to quickly fry your tuna roll if you want it to be raw inside.
- Dip your tuna roll in the prepared tempura batter and quickly cook for only one minute. Remove the fried tuna roll and place on a paper towel to drain.
- Take a cold plate and place the cucumber/carrot salad in the center of the plate. Using your favorite sharp knife, slice the tempura tuna roll and then place as many pieces of the tuna around the salad. Odd pieces have a nicer eye appeal if you are working in a circular shape plate design.
- Finish by spooning a small amount of the eel sauce in between the tuna rolls.
