Canadian Albacore Tuna Tataki by Vancouver’s Famed Tojo

Photo Courtesy Canadian Albacore Tuna

Reeling in fish rich in omega-3 fats  on a regular basis offers a bounty of health perks right through the life cycle from infancy to old age.    The range of benefits  is really quite remarkable: from the neurological development of infants to protecting against heart disease and stroke, certain cancers and  inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Even keeping your smarts is linked to consuming omega-3 fats.

Here’s a delicious way to up your omega-3 totals. Albacore tuna from British Columbia  supplies plenty of  these fats without the mercury that’s found in other tuna.

This recipe is adapted from Canadian Albacore Tuna and Hidekazu Tojo, Executive Chef of Tojo’s Restaurant in Vancouver.  If you’re not familiar with Tojo, he’s Canada’s premier sushi chef. Dining at his sushi bar when he is cooking is always the culinary highlight of any trip I take to Vancouver.

Canadian Albacore Tuna Tataki

Serves 4

1 lb. (454 g) Canadian Albacore Tuna loin, block cut
(2 inch/5 cm by 3-inch/7.5 cm pieces)
1/2 tsp (2 mL) sea salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp (30 mL) sake
2 lemons, juice only
Light shoyu (Japanese soy sauce), equal amount as lemon juice.
2 tbsp (30mL) grated daikon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) Japanese red chili pepper powder
1 cup (250 mL) shredded daikon
1 tbsp (30 mL) finely minced ginger
2 green onions and finely minced cress, optional,   for garnish.

1. Season Canadian Albacore Tuna loin segments lightly with salt.

2. With oven tongs, hold tuna loins over gas flame or hot electric element to sear lightly, just enough to colour tuna. Alternatively, you can use a kitchen blow torch to do so. When done, immerse loins into ice water batch to cool. Remove, dry well, and slice into 1/2  inch (1 cm) thick slices.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together garlic, sake, lemon juice, and shoyu. Add tuna slices and marinate for 1 minute.

4. In a small bowl, mix together grated daikon and chili powder.

5. To serve: Place a small pile of shredded daikon radish on each of four serving plates. Remove tuna from marinade and divide equally onto each pile of shredded daikon. To with a small amount of grated daikon mixture, minced ginger, and green onion. Garnish with cress, if desired, and serve.

Per serving nutritional information:
Calories:  212
Protein:  29  grams
Fat:   8 grams
Saturated Fat:  2  grams
Carbohydrate: 3  grams
Dietary Fibre:  1  gram
Sodium: 475 milligrams