Blanched tuna cubes are a beautiful way to present your tuna and provide an alternative to serving the fish completely raw. The very quick blanching in Dashi gives the tuna great flavor, but it retains that very fresh taste and bite. You can also use this method for creating unique sashimi pieces. This is a definite must-try for your sushi repertoire!

Instructions:

Step 1: Make Dashi Stock Make a large batch of Dashi Stock (approximately 2 litres). If you don’t know how to make Dashi stock, watch this video How to Make Dashi Stock. Pour half of your Dashi stock into a medium bowl and put into the freezer, you want it to be very cold but not frozen so take it out before it freezes completely. Heat the other half of your Dashi stock to a soft boil.

Step 2: Cut The Tuna While the Dashi is heating up, cut the tuna into a long thin rectangle that is the length of your block of tuna and 2.5cm (1 inch) square at the end.

Step 3: Blanche The Tuna Take your cold Dashi stock out of the freezer, and place the bowl next to the stove top on the counter. With the tongs, gently place the tuna into the boiling Dashi and blanche for 2-3 seconds. Remove from the boiling stock and place immediately into the cold Dashi stock to stop the cooking.

Step 4: Cut The Tuna Gently lay your tuna on the chopping board. Slice it into cubes using a very sharp knife. Make one clean slice per cut, do not saw through the tuna.