It’s tuna season! Tataki is one of the most enjoyable ways to eat fresh tuna, so here’s our spiced-up version of your classic tuna tataki in association with Cooking with COBB.

Ingredients:

•  Tuna
•  Rice
•  Sesame seeds 
•  Cooking oil (we use sesame oil)
•  Spring onions
•  Crispy fried shallots
•  Crispy chilli oil
•  Mayo
•  Soy sauce 

Method:

1.    The fish
Slice the tuna into nice long square chunks. You want it to be symmetrically shaped so that it cooks evenly on each side when searing. On a plate, sprinkle a mixture of both white and black sesame seeds. Rub a thin layer of sesame oil (or any cooking oil if you don’t have sesame) on the tuna chunks, and then roll them into the sesame seed mixture on the plate ensuring that there is an even layer of sesame seeds sticking to the fish on all four sides.  
Heat up a frying pan to a high heat. The trick for the perfect tataki is to oil the fish and not the pan. Once the pan is hot, place the sesame-covered tuna onto the frying pan. Fry each side for about 30 seconds each. The goal is to form a light crust while keeping the centre rare. Once all four sides have been lightly seared, remove from the pan and place into the freezer for a few minutes so that it can harden up before slicing.

2.    The rice
Now that the fish is resting in the freezer, it’s time to fry up your rice squares. For this specific dish, you’ll want rice that is sticky and not fluffy. We prepped some rice the day before and flattened some into a baking dish and into the fridge to hold its shape. 
Slice the rice into squares using a wet knife. This will prevent the rice from sticking to the knife when slicing. Reheat the frying pan and add some cooking oil. Once hot, place the rice slices in the pan. Let them cook on each side for about 3 minutes or until each side has become golden and crispy. Then flip over and cook the other side. Once golden and crispy on both sides, remove from the pan and place onto a plate to cool down.

3.    Assemble
Remove the tuna tataki from the freezer before it freezes. For the cleanest cut, use a very sharp knife and slice the tuna against the grain. Slice the tuna as thin as possible. Layer the sliced tuna tataki pieces on top of the cooled-down crispy rice squares.

4.    Garnish & serve
For the sauce, we mixed some crispy Chinese chilli oil and mayo. Drizzle this mixture on top of the tuna and rice combo. Garnish with thinly chopped fresh spring onions and also deep-fried shallots for a nice crunch (you can buy these at any Asian supermarket). Dip into soy sauce and enjoy!