Balfegó bluefin tuna tataki is one of the easiest dishes in Japanese cuisine to make. In addition to the great flavor of this fish, tuna is one of the meats with the most protein.
The part of Balfegó bluefin tuna used in this recipe is the akami. Akami – which means “red meat” in Japanese – corresponds to the inner part of the loin, next to the spine. The main characteristics are its red color and intense flavor. The best way to make it is raw or semi-cooked, as in this recipe in which we accompany it, among other ingredients of a ponzu sauce.
To make the ponzu sauce, add the lemon juice, orange juice and soy sauce to a bowl. Then, we add the sugar and stir so that it is well diluted. When the mixture is made, we strain it to remove any remains of pulp that may have fallen, and set aside.
To prepare the Balfegó bluefin tuna tataki, we soak the wakame seaweed (they are usually sold dehydrated) for five minutes and let it drain.
We cut the piece of Balfegó bluefin tuna into saku, that is, approximately 2 x 2 fingers thick and 6 fingers long. We put a frying pan on the heat and, when it is very hot, we add the oil. Next, we sear the bluefin tuna loin saku for 15 seconds on each side. Once it is done, we coat it in the sesame on the outside and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
While we wait for it to cool, we cut the chives and grate the ginger very finely. Now we can start plating with the wakame seaweed.
After 10 minutes, we cut the loin saku into slices of approximately half a centimeter and place it resting on the wakame seaweed in a fan shape. We bathe the pieces with the ponzu sauce and sprinkle with a little chives and ginger (to taste).
We can accompany our tataki with a little daikon oroshi. To prepare the daikon oroshi, we simply peel the daikon, grate it with a fine grater and put a small spoonful next to the Balfegó bluefin tuna tataki to accompany.
*Daikon contains digestive enzymes that will help make our digestion easier.
