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Deconstructed Sushi Roll - Grilled Seared Tuna with a Sushi Roll Salad

Those colorful sushi rolls are not only an amazing combination of flavors they also take time, patience, and practice to create. Here’s a way to enjoy all those flavors, in a beautiful presentation, if you haven’t taken the time to master the skills of rolling a sushi roll. Seared grilled tuna is served with a sushi rice salad containing cucumbers, carrots, yellow squash, avocado, radishes, and ginger. It is dressed in a sushi roll vinaigrette of sesame oil, rice vinegar and a touch of sugar. The vegetables are tossed with a wasabi oil and combined with the rice. Serve soy sauce, ponzu sauce, wasabi paste, extra ginger and toasted sesames on the side. Chopsticks optional.
There are variations you can create of this deconstruction. Add crab or smoked salmon to the rice salad. Serve with Tuna Tartare (cubed raw tuna in an Asian vinaigrette). You could also serve the salad with cooked or tempura shrimp. You no longer have to wait to indulge on sushi only when you eat out, you can enjoy a deconstructed sushi roll anytime you want…at home.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Japanese
Keyword rice, Sushi, Tuna
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Sushi Roll Salad

  • 1 ½ cups Short Grain Sushi Rice
  • 1 ¾ cups Water
  • ¼ cup Rice Vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon Wasabi Paste
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Vegetable Oil
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Water
  • 1 cup Carrot julienne 2 inches
  • 1 cup English Cucumber julienne 2 inches
  • 1 cup Yellow Squash julienne 2 inches
  • 8 Radishes thinly sliced
  • 3 Scallions thinly sliced diagonally
  • 1 Avocado sliced
  • 1 tablespoon Lime Juice
  • 5 Ginger Roses strips of pickled ginger rolled to form a rose

Grilled Tuna

  • 1 1/2 pounds Ahi Tuna sashimi grade, 2 inches thick
  • Grape Seed Oil
  • Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
  • Wasabi Paste
  • Soy Sauce
  • Ponzu Sauce
  • Pickled Ginger
  • Tuxedo Sesame Seeds toasted
  • Heat your grill to hottest temperature possible. Clean the grates. Use grill tongs and a rag soaked in vegetable oil to lightly oil the grates.
  • Lightly coat the tuna steaks with grape seed oil salt, and fresh ground pepper.
  • Sear the tuna 1 minute turn 45 degrees and cook for another 30 seconds. Flip the tuna steak and cook for 1 minute, turn the steak 45 degrees and cook for another 30 seconds. The internal temperature should reach 115 degrees. Remove from the grill and let rest for at least five minutes.
  • Slice into thin strips and serve on the side with the Sushi Roll Salad.
  • Serve sides of wasabi paste soy sauce, ponzu, ginger and toasted sesames for dipping.

Instructions

Sushi Roll Salad

  • Rinse rice in a fine sieve colander in cold water.  Rinse until water is clear.
  • In a 3-4 quart heavy saucepan, bring rice and 1 ¾ cups waterto a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.  Remove pan from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
  • In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil. Stir constantly until sugar is dissolved. Let cool.
  • Transfer the rice to a large bowl and pour vinegar mixture over rice.  Fold into rice with a wooden spoon.  Cover rice with a damp cloth and let cool in the refrigerator.
  • Whisk together wasabi paste, vegetable oil, and 1 ½tablespoons of water. 
  • In a large bowl, toss carrots, cucumber, yellow squash, scallions, and radishes with dressing. Add rice to vegetables and toss some more.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  • Before serving, slice avocado and drizzle with fresh lime juice.  Garnish salad with avocado and ginger roses.

Grilled Tuna

  • Heat your grill to hottest temperature possible.  Clean the grates. Use grill tongs and a rag soaked in vegetable oil, to lightly oil the grates.
  • Lightly coat the tuna steaks with grape seed oil, salt, and fresh ground pepper.
  • Sear the tuna 1 minute, turn 45 degrees and cook for another30 seconds. Flip the tuna steak and cook for 1 minute, turn the steak 45degrees and cook for another 30 seconds. The internal temperature should reach115 degrees.  Remove from the grill and let rest for at least five minutes.
  • Slice into thin strips and serve on the side with the Sushi Roll Salad.
  • Serve sides of wasabi paste, soy sauce, ponzu, ginger and toasted sesames for dipping.