I hate to brag but this was AWESOME! Really easy and fantastically healthy it was one of those dishes that make you sad when it is over. Spicy seared tuna on a bed of fresh, crunchy veg and soft soba noodles with a sweet, aromatic ginger and mirin dressing…….Love, love, love this my friends……it is a must try!
Prep time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes $$ Medium budget
Serves 2
400gm of fresh tuna steaks cut into 2cm cubes
2 tbs of olive oil
2 tsp of wasabi paste
1 tsp of ground coriander
2 tbs of very finely chopped coriander
2 x 90gm packets of organic soba noodles
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into really thin matchsticks*
3 radishes, halved and sliced very thinly on the diagonal
A handful of snow peas, topped and tailed and sliced into thin matchsticks
1 cup of coriander leaves
1/2 a small red onion, finely sliced
1 green onion, sliced finely on the diagonal, for garnish
For the Dressing:
1/4 cup of mirin*
2 tbs of soy sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tbs of fish sauce
1 tsp of caster sugar
A squeeze of lime juice
Combine the olive oil, wasabi and ground coriander in a bowl and stir with the back of a spoon to dissolve the wasabi. Pop the tuna pieces in and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and thread evenly onto 4 wooden skewers. Sprinkle each side with the coriander and set aside.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook the noodles according to packet instructions. Drain and run under cold water and drain again. Place the noodles in a large bowl with the carrot, snow peas, radish, onion and coriander leaves.
Combine the mirin, soy, sesame oil, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl or jar. Shake or whisk to combine until the sugar has dissolved. pour a couple of tablespoons over the noodle salad and toss well to combine.
Heat a large frypan, BBQ or griddle pan until nice and hot. Cook the tuna skewers on all sides for approximately 60 seconds. You still want it to be nice and pink in the middle as tuna can become very dry.
Divide the salad evenly between two plates and top with the tuna skewers. Spoon over the remaining dressing and top with a sprinkle of green onion. Serve immediately!
* To slice my carrot really thin I first cut in half so that I have 2 x 4 or 5cm pieces. I then run my peeler down each piece so I have large, thin ribbons. I pile them up and then slice them really finely with my knife. Mirin is available in the Asian section of the supermarket.