Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Bibi London
      Bibi London - Michelin Indian Food
    • Planque London
      Planque London: Tasting the Unexpected
    • Bala Baya London
      Sunday Brunch at Bala Baya London
    • Ta Vie Hong Kong
      Ta Vie Hong Kong 旅 (3 Michelin Stars)
    • Pleka IFC Hong Kong
      Pleka IFC Hong Kong - Italian Japanese fusion
    • Nanjing, China
      Weekend Trip to Nanjing China
    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
      Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
    • Wakaran Hong Kong
      Wakaran Wan Chai
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong (revisited)
    • The Chairman Hong Kong
      The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star)
    • Hanu Wan Chai Hong Kong
      Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai
    • Always Joy Hong Kong
      Always Joy Hong Kong
    Home » Recipe » Fish

    Tuna Tartare

    Published: Jul 28, 2010 · Modified: Oct 27, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    Fatty Tuna Tartare
    One of my favorite sauces is spicy mayo. You know which sauce I'm talking about - the one they use for spicy tuna rolls or spicy salmon rolls. It has an addictive flavor of its own and works really well with all sorts of raw fish.

    Granted, please don't waste the sauce on really fresh fish that can stand on its own. But for your ordinary everyday roll?  Why not?

    Tartare typically costs less because it's made with inferior or uglier materials. The most beautiful pieces of fish are cut into sashimi or nigiri slices. The remaining bits, which still often have great flavor but possibly compromised texture, must be chopped up and served some other way.

    The ones that don't have as good flavor can easily be enhanced with the addition of this magical spicy mayo. It's a great and simple way to dress up less expensive fish into something fancy and delicious.
    Salmon yellowtail sashimi
    I recently visited New Deal Fish Market to check out their fish selection. I asked if they had toro (tuna belly, one of my favorite foods in the world). Unfortunately, they had sold out of toro, but they did have this less expensive cut of fatty tuna (pictured above, bottom left piece with the stripes).

    Carl Fantasia, the owner, told me that this cut was more flavorful than normal tuna (maguro) because it had more fat. You can tell too - it's got the classic pink color of toro and tons of marbling. However, this part of the fish has a lot of connective tissue (all those white stripes you see), and therefore the only way to really prepare this fish is to chop it up into small pieces or painstakingly remove the connective tissue.

    I took his advice, sort of. I painstakingly removed the connective tissue AND chopped it all up into little pieces (once I realized that the tiny slivers of meat between the connective tissue were pretty much useless on their own).

    I mixed it up with some spicy mayo and, viola! I had my own tuna tartare.
    _1040314

    Spicy Tuna Tartare
    ½ teaspoon Sriracha Sauce (Asian chili sauce)
    ¼ teaspoon Sesame Oil
    2 T Mayonnaise

    Raw fish, finely chopped

    Combine Sriracha sauce, mayonnaise and sesame oil in a bowl and mix together well. Add more Sriracha sauce and/or sesame oil to taste. Combine with chopped up tuna and serve.

    If you'd like, you can stuff the finished tartare into a small cup and invert it onto a plate for a more dramatic presentation. Top with something green, like scallions (as pictured), parsley, or chives.

    Note: please make sure to purchase fish suitable for eating raw. This usually means it's really fresh (you can always ask the fishmonger) or it has been frozen for a specific amount of time according to FDA guidelines.

    Enjoy!

    _1040315

    Michelin Starred Tartare
    Here are a few other tartares from some very nice Michelin-starred chefs. Can you guess where these are from? (click on the photo to find out).
    Joel Robuchon
    Jean-Georges



    Finally, A Note on Sustainability
    Unfortunately, bluefin tuna is highly overfished and is not a sustainable choice. According to the Monteray Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, all populations of bluefin tuna are currently being caught faster than they can reproduce. The better choice for tuna would be certain types of yellowfin tuna (also known as "ahi" sometimes), U.S. Atlantic bigeye tuna, or certain types of albacore tuna. You can see the entire list here.

    I'm personally very guilty of being woefully unaware of whether the food I am eating is sustainable or not. The thought of bluefin tuna going extinct because of our current unsustainable practices makes me sad, and therefore I've decided to try harder to become better educated about the seafood I eat.

    Related Posts
    Spicy Chili Mayo
    Homemade Chirashi (New Deal Fish Market)

    Giveaway
    Today is the last day to enter the Smith & Wollensky $50 gift certificate Giveaway. Just come here and tell me your favorite steak or burger place. Drawing occurs TONIGHT at midnight.

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Fish

    • Nasi Lemak - Malaysia's national dish
    • Pasta with Tuna, Artichokes, and Olives + Giveaway!
    • Spanish Paella with Afghan Saffron
    • Sous Vide Salmon

    Recent Posts

    • Bibi London - Michelin Indian Food July 9, 2025
    • Planque London: Tasting the Unexpected July 4, 2025
    • Sunday Brunch at Bala Baya London July 1, 2025
    • Ta Vie Hong Kong 旅 (3 Michelin Stars) June 27, 2025
    • Pleka IFC Hong Kong - Italian Japanese fusion June 24, 2025
    • Weekend Trip to Nanjing China June 20, 2025
    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong June 17, 2025
    • Wakaran Wan Chai June 15, 2025
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen