Hand-Chopped Tuna Tartare on Sesame Chips

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Sushi-grade tuna chopped by hand — never ground in a machine — and folded with soy, yuzu, toasted sesame oil and a whisper of chile. Instead of fussing with a ring mold, you spoon it onto crisp wonton chips so every bite stays cold, clean and crunchy. It's the $36 restaurant appetizer, done in 25 minutes at home.

Ingredients

• 12 oz sushi-grade ahi or bluefin tuna loin, well chilled
• 1 medium ripe but firm avocado
• 2 tbsp finely minced shallot
• 2 tbsp thinly sliced chives or scallion greens

• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp yuzu juice (or fresh lemon juice)
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp sriracha or sambal oelek
• 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds

• 16 square wonton wrappers
• 2 tbsp neutral oil (grapeseed or canola)
• 1 tbsp black and white sesame seeds
• 1/4 tsp flaky sea salt

• 1 tsp tobiko or masago (optional)
• 1 pinch togarashi or Aleppo pepper
• 1 lemon wedge, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Cut the wonton wrappers in half on the diagonal to make 32 triangles. Arrange them in a single layer on two parchment-lined sheet pans, brush lightly with the neutral oil, and sprinkle with the black and white sesame seeds and flaky salt.
2. Bake the chips 6 to 8 minutes, rotating the pans halfway, until evenly golden and blistered. They crisp further as they cool — pull them the moment the edges brown. Cool completely on the pan; they hold at room temperature, uncovered, for up to 4 hours.
3. Whisk the dressing: soy sauce, yuzu juice, sesame oil, mirin, grated ginger, sriracha and 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds. Set in the refrigerator.
4. Set the tuna on a plate in the freezer for 10 minutes — firm, very cold fish cuts cleanly. Meanwhile put a metal mixing bowl in the freezer too.
5. With your sharpest knife, trim any sinew or bloodline from the tuna. Slice the loin into 1/4-inch planks, stack two or three planks, cut into 1/4-inch batons, then crosswise into a neat 1/4-inch dice. Do not chop it to a paste — you want distinct cubes you can see. Transfer to the chilled bowl and return to the refrigerator.
6. Halve, pit and dice the avocado into 1/4-inch cubes to match the tuna. Toss with 1 tsp of the dressing so it doesn't brown.
7. No more than 10 minutes before serving, fold the shallot, chives and about 3 tablespoons of the dressing into the tuna with a rubber spatula — 8 to 10 gentle turns, no more. Taste and add dressing a teaspoon at a time; the tuna should taste seasoned, not soupy.
8. Fold in the avocado last, with two or three strokes so the cubes stay intact. Season with a pinch of flaky salt.
9. Spoon a rounded tablespoon of tartare onto each chip, or mound the tartare in a shallow chilled bowl and pass the chips alongside. Finish with tobiko, a dusting of togarashi and a squeeze of lemon. Serve immediately while the chips are crisp and the fish is cold.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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