Chefs' Recipes

Tuna tataki

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for tuna tataki from Izakaya Den in Melbourne.

  • 10 mins preparation
  • 10 mins cooking plus marinating
  • Serves 4 - 6
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Tuna tataki
"I had Izakaya Den's tuna tataki recently at a friend's catered party - I'd love to know the recipe, please."
Hayden Blatch, St Kilda, Vic
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Ingredients

  • 125 ml (½ cup) mirin
  • 125 ml (½ cup) cooking sake
  • 230 ml light soy sauce
  • 10 gm bonito flakes
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) sesame oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced on a mandolin
  • 600 gm sashimi-grade mid-cut yellowfin tuna
  • To serve: micro-cress (see note)
Wasabi and chilli bean tartare sauce
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • ½ white onion, finely diced
  • 100 gm Kewpie mayonnaise (see note)
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp wasabi paste
  • 1 tsp chilli bean paste (toban djan, see note)

Method

Main
  • 1
    Simmer mirin and sake in a saucepan over high heat until reduced by a third (2-4 minutes). Add soy sauce and bonito flakes, stir to combine and set aside.
  • 2
    Heat half the sesame oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, then cook garlic until golden-brown and slightly crisp (3-4 minutes). Transfer garlic to mirin mixture and refrigerate in a non-reactive airtight container for up to 3 days.
  • 3
    Trim tuna into a rectangle. Heat remaining sesame oil in a frying pan, sear tuna on all sides until just golden (30 seconds to 1 minute), transfer to mirin marinade and refrigerate to marinate (10-15 minutes).
  • 4
    For wasabi and chilli bean tartare sauce, bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add eggs and cook until soft-boiled (5 minutes). Run under cold water, peel and process in a blender with onion until smooth (1-2 minutes). Add mayonnaise and parsley and process until smooth (1-2 minutes). Halve egg mixture and add wasabi to one half and chilli bean paste to the other, and stir to combine.
  • 5
    Remove tuna from marinade, slice across the grain to 2cm-3cm thick and arrange on plates. Spoon a small amount of each sauce over tuna slices, scatter with micro-cress and serve.

Notes

Note Micro-cress is available from select grocers. Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise and chilli bean paste are available from Asian grocers and some supermarkets.