Tuna Roll Recipe

Tuna Roll

(One of many ways to do it)

-As a lover of food and a bit out there I do not really measure. I am not a trained chef. I do by eye so bear with me and feel free to add your own personal twist. Each time it comes out a bit differently since I improvise with ingredients.

Makes 3 long rolls that you will need to cut up to the length you like. Cut at an angle for

better presentation. Makes about 20 pieces.

Need:

-Bamboo roller-Many supermarkets have in specialty food section. (Sushi Chef makes the one I know)

-Tuna-1 large steak or about ½ lb ( yellowfin, bluefin or bigeye preferred. Albacore ok as well.) Cut pieces into 1 ½”x 1”.

-Pint of white rice from Chinese restaurant unless you make yours sticky!

-Couple of scallion long leaves

-Pickled ginger (the pink stuff you get in the restaurant).

-Surprise ingredient-bunch of crispy fried Chinese noodles (in cello bag from restaurant)

-Creamy green wasabi sauce

-Soy sauce

-Sesame seeds-white or black (black is more dramatic)

-Sesame oil (optional)

Ok, now we have all the ingredients. Prep the ingredients:

-Take the scallions and ginger and dice up into very small pieces. Crush up the Chinese fried noodles. Add them all together in a small bowl. Add  1/1/2-2  tablespoons of green wasabi sauce, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and mix all together with your hand. Feels good to get fingers doused in this stuff. Remember to lick you fingers to adjust ingredients to taste. Put aside.

-Lets do the seaweed wrapper next. Take your bamboo roller. I would dampen it so the wrapper does not stick to it. Put it on wax paper or cutting board. Take a sheet of seaweed and lay out. Take the rice bit by bit and spread it out all over the wrapper like cream cheese on a bagel. (I’m from Long Island!) Not too thick and not too much since it will be too thick when wrapping. I would do one sheet at a time filling it and roll just to save space.

-Next add the tuna mix:

Take the tuna chunks and lay them across the sheet of seaweed/rice overlapping them a bit. Begin about 1 ½ inch from edge of the end of the bamboo roller where the rolling will begin. Then take and lay a thin layer of the extras ingredients on top of the tuna. Pat down with your hand so bond with each other. Set each roll aside for cutting afterward.

Now the fun part-rolling.

-I really can’t explain adequately here how to do this. But if you have rolled anything you can figure it our. But for starters, begin by a partial roll and bring the edge of the seaweed closest to the edge of the bamboo roller. Tuck the tuna mix into the beginning part. Continue to roll keeping a tight and firm pressure as you roll the mat along.

When done you should moisten the end edge of seaweed and press against the roll to keep it together. You can also roll it again after taking it from the bamboo roller to keep tight. You will find that the ends may squish out so just push back into the roll.

Cut:

-Make sure your knife is sharp or otherwise you will tear the wrapper as you cut it. Estimate how thick you like it. Me, I like about 1 ½ inch thick. Whatever you  prefer. Finish by sprinkling sesame seeds on the exposed ends of each piece.

Dipping sauce:

-Take 2 tablespoons of wasabi sauce, 8 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon lemon or better yet, freshly squeezed lime juice. Mix together. Dip rolls and enjoy.

Note:

-Wish I took a video of this. Was a lot of fun and took a little practice to roll it all in the bamboo roller. (Remember Bamboo rolling papers. Similar, LOL)

-Spring rolls use similar ingredients. Just leave out rice, seaweed but need to buy Spring roil pre-cut sheets at local Asian market if you have one. Dollop a couple of large spoonfuls onto the sheet, and make a mini-burrito like shape. Brown quickly by turning

the rolls in a lightly oiled pan. Less is more since tuna cooks very quickly under a minute)

-If buying tuna, you don’t need the Toro or best loins since this will be mixed with other ingredients. They may even give you a better price is you take smaller steaks. If you find some muscle in these pieces simple cut out.

-Remember this is fun. If you want to add other ingredients, experiment and enjoy your creativity.

Enjoy

Jeff, bigmahi

PS-If you want to see where we fish go to my Facebook page and see the page header artwork. You will see a distinctive line which is the continental shelf. The finger to the left is where many Mid-Atlantic anglers go for tuna, swordfish, mahi-mahi, wahoo and summer pelagics.