This tuna tartare with brown butter and wasabi is a small explosion of flavour that is both simple and elegant. Perfect as an appetiser or small starter, where a few ingredients get to shine.
The tuna is cut into small, delicate cubes and placed in the bottom of a small bowl. It is then topped with a spoonful of soy sauce, warm brown butter, crunchy chopped wasabi peas, fresh onion sprouts and a twist of freshly ground pepper.
The combination of tender tuna, the nutty richness of the butter, the saltiness of the soy sauce, the crunch and heat of the wasabi peas and the freshness of the sprouts is nothing short of heavenly.
The most important trick is that the butter should be warm but not hot: too hot and it will start to cook the tuna; too cold and it will set into lumps.
Most of the ingredients can be prepared ahead, so the dish only needs assembling just before serving.
Important: serving raw fish
When you serve tuna (or any other fish) raw, it is important for food safety that the fish has been frozen first. This kills any parasites and makes the fish safe to eat raw. In Denmark, the recommendation is to freeze the fish at -20°C for at least 24 hours before use.
If you buy tuna specifically for sushi or tartare, you will often find it labelled “sashimi-grade” or “for raw consumption” – here the fish has already been handled and frozen correctly.
If you are using fresh tuna, make sure to freeze it yourself and thaw it in the fridge before you prepare the dish.
Tuna tartare with brown butter and wasabi
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp butter for browning
- 200 g fresh tuna sashimi-grade, see note on raw fish
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 handful wasabi peas, roughly chopped
- 1 handful onion sprouts
- Freshly ground pepper
Method
- Melt the butter over a medium heat. Let it foam up well, then turn the heat down slightly. Keep cooking, stirring as you go, until the butter turns nut brown. It is important that the butter is only just warm to the touch – not scalding hot – when the dish is assembled. At the same time, it must not be too cold either, or it will set when the dish is put together.
- Cut the tuna into small cubes of no more than 1 x 1 cm.
- Divide the tuna between 4 serving bowls and pour 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp brown butter over each. Scatter the chopped wasabi peas on top and finish with onion sprouts and freshly ground pepper.
Nutrition
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