Best No-Cook Tuna Recipes

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Let me share with you my favorite no-cook tuna recipes for a healthy and tasty meal when you don’t feel like cooking… Many people are put off by raw fish, due to health safety or fishy smell concerns. For sure, pregnant women should avoid eating raw fish and during the Pandemic, one should be extra cautious about consuming any raw food. However, if the fish is fresh, of high quality and good provenance, it should be safe to consume and would not have any fishy smell at all…

What type of tuna to use?

For these recipes, tuna is the hero and since it’s consumed raw, you should get the best quality possible. For any fish to be eaten raw, you should get sushi or sashimi grade tuna from a Japanese or Korean store or from a reputable fishmonger.

Here are the main cuts of sushi and sashimi grade tuna:

Maguro is the Japanese term for bluefin tuna, probably the most commonly used for sushi and sashimi, followed by yellowfin tuna known as Ahi.

Akami is the leaner cut from the sides of the fish, which is often used in tuna rolls, sushis and sashimi.

Toro is the fatty belly part of the tuna, which is much more expensive and is graded by fat content: The Chu-toro, which is the belly part along the side of the fish, and the O-toro, which is the fattiest part of the belly underside, and the texture is rich and feels like it melts in your mouth.

We are lucky to occasionally receive fresh caught tuna from our friends (shout out to Lisa and Todd!) and here are my favorite no-cook tuna dishes.

Ceviche

For ceviche, the tuna is “cooked” by the fresh lime juice. Any cut of tuna or other firm fish could be used for this recipe. For more details, check out the Ceviche recipe in this post.

Thai-style Tuna with Spicy Chili Lime Sauce

As with ceviche, the tuna is “cooked” by the tantalizing spicy and tangy lime fish sauce. My daughter-in-law has introduced this dish to me in Bangkok, and it is really bursting with flavors! It can be served as appetizer or main course, served with Jasmine rice. Here’s the recipe.

Sashimi

I have such respect for Sushi chefs that I’m almost reluctant to post any home-made sushi or sashimi… Firstly, the tuna must be the best sashimi-grade quality that you can get. Here, we are lucky to receive a great toro cut, freshly caught by Todd, Guido’s friend. You must use a very sharp knife, and cut the tuna into a neat rectangular shape, then sliced it (Any “scraps” could be used to make poke). The toro slices are displayed on shredded daikon (white radish), and enjoyed with dipping soy sauce and wasabi (spicy Japanese horseradish paste).

Poke

Poke is a popular Hawaiian dish using fresh fish, generally bluefin or yellowtail tuna.

The beauty about poke is that it’s healthy, light and delicious, and you could use any ingredients that you like, the star of the show being the tuna. Think of it as a great tuna salad with an Asian dressing, served over rice.

Here’s a list of ingredients – preferably mix different textures for a more satisfying experience. It’s as simple as adding 1+2+3+4+5…

The quantity indicated is for 4 servings.

1. Key Ingredient:

1 lb (500 grams) of Fresh sashimi or sushi-grade tuna – washed, dried, and cubed – refrigerate until ready to serve. For poke, the fish should be served cold.

2. Garnishes (for different textures and tastes, pick at least 3 garnishes, 1 cup of each)

Avocado, cubed
Fresh mango, cubed
Fresh tomatoes, cubed
Seasoned seaweed salad (available from Asian stores)
Sliced or shredded radish
Arugula
Sliced kale
Sliced cucumber
Julienne carrots
Edamame
Tamago (Japanese omelette)

3. Aromatics (pick 2 aromatics, 1/4 cup each)

Pickled sliced ginger
Onion, diced
Green onion, thinly sliced
Shallots, diced

4. Rice (4 cups of warm cooked rice)

Brown rice
Short grain rice
Jasmine rice

5. Sauce (pick either one, around 1/2 cup sauce)

Spicy Mayo (I use 1/2 cup Kewpie Mayo mixed with 1 to 2 tablespoon of Sriracha chili sauce)
Poke sauce – Here’s the recipe:

1/2 cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium soy sauce, or you can also use tamari sauce for gluten-free)

3 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon freshly toasted sesame seeds

To serve:

Scoop the warm rice in the bowls.

Display the cold tuna and the garnishes on top. Sprinkle the aromatics on top. Serve the sauce (either the spicy mayo or the poke sauce) on the side.

Here’s my poke bowl with chu-toro, kale, cucumber, seaweed salad, avocado and tomatoes, served with poke sauce. So fresh tasting and delicious!

Why not prepare a make-your-own-poke dinner? Display each ingredient in a separate bowl, and let your guests compose their own poke bowl…

You can also skip the rice and serve the raw tuna with the garnish of your choice, and Spicy Mayo, as an appetizer. So fresh and tasty!

No matter which recipe you select to make, we are sure that it will be a hit with your family!

Related products:

All the ingredients can be found at most Asian department stores, but if there’s none nearby, they can also be ordered via Amazon.