Ahoy! Fruits de Mer

I'm a landlubber.  Was born a landlubber, was able to do a bit of the coastal/seafaring life, but now have returned to landlubberhood.  Sigh.

And one thing I don't know well is my fruits de mer.  But I am trying.  Salt Lake City is fortunate to have a a very good fish market.  I am availing myself of its goods and trying to learn how to dine on sea produce.

My first attempt was Big-eye Tuna & seaweed salad.  The recipe:

1/2 lbs sushi grade Big-eye Tuna
1/2 T toasted sesame seeds
1/2 t sesame oil
2 T soy sauce
1 T spicy Thai pepper sauce
1 t unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1/2 Cayenne pepper flakes

Cut tuna into small cubes (1/2")
Whisk dressing ingredients in small bowl and drizzle desired amount over tuna
(I chickened out on the whole seaweed salad part - I simply purchased a freshly pre-made one and it was surprisingly good)

I experimented just a bit with the wine pairing for this.  The first impulse was, of course Riesling or Gewurz.  However, I decided to zag and paired it with an Aussie:  Primo Estate La Biondina (Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Colombard).  The wine's tangy, lemongrass-y quality was the perfect foil for rich, umami-laden tuna with salty-spicy dressing.

Comments

[Ian]

Looks very much like a classic Hawaiian "poke" without onion.

http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/dining/poke

My favorite food memory from the islands was the simple fresh poke bought at a fish market and eaten from a styrofoam cup.

And store-bought seaweed salad seems to be the only option for me, locked between great lakes as it were.

[beau]

Exactly. Someone told me it was similar to "Poki" - but I couldn't find much about it (spelled with the "i"). Now I know it's, "Poke."

Cheers