Tuna Tartare on Won Ton Crisps
Georgie
Tuna Tartare on Won Ton Crisps
Ingredients:
- one packet of won ton wrappers
- 2 pounds of sushi grade ahi tuna (if you buy diced up Hawaiian poke style it's half the price)
- 1 large bunch of cilantro -- finely sliced
- 3 limes
- one quarter cup of sesame oil
- 3 diced up garlic cloves
- one half of a ginger root diced and sliced
- 12 finely sliced green onions
- 3x firm yet ripe avocados sliced and diced
- a table spoon of finely sliced mint
- a table spoon of wasabi paste
- 2 table spoons of toasted sesame seeds
Steps:
I baked the won ton crisps the night before -- which I recommend as it is allows them to cool and it's a slightly tedious process that you need to stay focused on it (as opposed to doing ten things at once which is my style). I cut the won ton papers in half creating two triangles. I brush them with sesame oil and the sprinkled them with salt, chili powder and Chinese Five Spice. I placed them in a hot oven (400 F) and they cooked within 4-5 minutes.
I diced the tuna into blueberry size pieces. Once it was all diced and sitting in my mixing bowl, I squeezed lime and stirred with a fork. The citric acid is an agent of a chemical process called denaturation. In this process, the citric acid changes the proteins in the fish, unraveling the molecules and altering their chemical and physical properties. This process of denaturation is as though the fish has been cooked with heat. So, I do not over do the limejuice and I do not let it sit in the juice overnight (which would truly bring about the process of denaturation). 3 limes is just enough to give an ever so slightly 'cooked' effect (although technically not cooked).
I like to add the garlic and ginger in next. This allows the tuna to become infused with these flavors. Soon after I stir in the chopped cilantro and the sliced green onions. I then massaged the sesame oil with my very clean hands. Again using a fork I stirred in the small amount of wasabi, mint and sesame seeds. Lastly I added firm diced avocados and made sure not to over stir which would cause the dish to become like guacamole.
I served a full teaspoon of tuna tartare on each won ton crisp. I like to serve this dish on a large tropical leaf with occasional orchards.