As the days grow colder, I find myself missing Hawaii and its never-ending summer. In hopes of curing my homesickness, I’ve resorted to making my favorite dishes. The first thing that came to mind: Spicy Ahi.
For those who don’t know: Ahi is the Hawaiian word for Tuna.
I was desperate and willing to wake up before the sun in order to grab the freshest fish I could find in the city. On Saturday morning, I forced myself out of bed at 5AM. If you’re living in LA, the Los Angeles Fish Co. is a great place to get quality seafood. It’s located in Little Tokyo, and it’s where a lot of sushi restaurants buy in bulk from. But it’s conveniently open to the public too. Just make sure to go early before all the good stuff is gone! It’s also cheaper than if you were to buy from a supermarket. I bought ahi for $27/lb., while market price is currently $37/lb.
^ Here are the ingredients I tested. I tried many different variations, but found that (1) the chili oil and sriracha work best together, (2) kewpie, a japanese mayo, tastes a million times better in this recipe than regular mayo, and (3) a sharp knife is key for cutting the tuna without turning it mushy.
You can cut it into chunks like this:
Or into smaller pieces like this:
And may be decorated with as much tobiko, green onions, and Rilakkuma cuteness as you like. I bought these food picks in Taiwan, thinking I’d use them for bentos but how often do I even make a bento anyways (never)? Found some way to use them though!
Spicy Tuna Bowl
This recipe makes two servings.
I N G R E D I E N T S :
1 lb of sushi grade tuna
1/4 cup kewpie mayo
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp shoyu
1.5 tbsp chili oil
1 tsp sriracha
Pinch of hawaiian/sea salt
Tobiko (fish roe)
Green onion
I N S T R U C T I O N S :
Using a sharp knife, cut the raw tuna into square chunks (poke style). If you prefer smaller pieces, continue to chop the tuna till you’ve reached your desired size–but do not turn it into mush!
Place the tuna in a large bowl. Add in the mayo, sesame oil, shoyu, chili oil, sriracha and salt. Mix gently with a spatula until fully combined and the tuna is evenly coated. At this point, don’t be afraid to test the spicy tuna. If you feel it’s not spicy or salty enough, you can add more sriracha and salt to your liking. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the tobiko and mix it into the spicy tuna.
Serve over sushi rice. Morimoto has a great recipe here. Alternatively, after cooking the rice I’ve used honey to give it that sweet and stickiness. Sprinkle with chopped green onions and more tobiko (I also added a few dashes of wasabi furikake mix onto mine, but it’s completely optional).
Raw fish is best fresh. Ideally, you should eat the spicy tuna as soon as it’s been made but it’s okay to keep till the following day.