Spicy Tuna Rolls with Sriracha Wasabi Sauce

Last month, we won the Royal Foodie Joust, hosted by Jenn, The Leftover Queen. As part of the prize (along with the coveted Joust apron), we got to choose the three ingredients for this month's Joust. I was hoping for pure creative and fun cooking, and since FotoCuisine loves the way food looks as well as tastes, I chose "Red, White, and Green" as the ingredients. Each cook should interpret "Red, White, and Green" ingredients however they would like.

I can't help but play along, even though we're out of the voting this month. I made a spicy tuna roll (red tuna, white rice, green nori), with a spicy sriracha wasabi sauce (red sriracha, green wasabi, white(ish) garlic/ginger).

I really wanted to do this because we were in a sushi mood, plus I need to work on my rolling skills. Christey later pointed out that we won last month on a sushi roll, and I laughed because I completely forgot -- it seemed so different in my head. Anyway, this was good fun.

I made some sushi rice according to the directions, and added some seasoned rice vinegar to get it tasting right.

Meanwhile, for the sauce, I chopped a clove of garlic, sliced a small shallot, and grated some fresh ginger. The typical Asian "trinity" is garlic/ginger/scallions, but I tried a shallot this time instead of the green onion.

I heated a pan on medium high until it was hot, then added a tablespoon or so of olive oil, then the garlic/ginger/shallot mixture.

When everything was fragrant, I added about 1/4 cup plain rice vinegar, and 2-3 tablespoons sugar. Once mixed and simmering, I added a teaspoon or two of wasabi, and a tablespoon or two of sriracha.

I took a nice, fresh tuna steak and cut it against the grain.

I also took some sesame seeds and toasted them on a medium to medium-high pan until they browned just slightly

For assembly, I took half a sheet of nori, spread rice on the non-shiny side, then flipped it, added tuna, and a bit of wasabi.

I rolled with the mat, pulling the cellophane away at each stage, then rolled the roll in the sesame seeds.

I still don't have the best rolling results in the world, but I'm learning.

I added a half-tablespoon of corn starch to a 1/4 cup of white wine and mixed together. I added this to the sauce, brought it to a simmer until the sauce thickened, then strained it into a bowl.

For plating, the rolls went on a plate with some wasabi dots (in case even more spice was desired...), and drizzled lightly with the sauce.

Recipe: Sauce: 1 small shallot, minced 1 inch ginger, shredded 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 cup rice vinegar 2-3 tablespoons sugar (to taste) 1 tsp wasabi (more to taste) 1 tbsp srirachi (more to taste) 1/2 tbsp corn starch 1/4 cup white wine

Roll: (makes 3 rolls) 1 small tuna steak (1/3-1/2 lb) 3 cups cooked sushi rice with 3 tablespoons seasoned (mirin) rice vinegar stirred in 3 half-sheets nori sesame seeds to coat (may be toasted) wasabi to taste

Deconstruction -- This was fun, and really satisfied the tuna and spice craving we were having. The sauce was really spicy, a nice tang from the vinegar, with the sweetness of the sugar to cut everything nicely. I probably used a little too much rice this time around, but it still hit the spot.