Chinese Food Culture

I love all sorts of Japanese-style salads, from the simple seaweed salad to the more complex salads such as seared ahi tuna salad. Whenever I eat out at Japanese restaurants, I almost never miss out on my favorite ahi tuna salad. It’s almost like having sashimi, except that it is healthier—a few slices of lightly seared ahi tuna on top of a bed of greens, drizzled with a splash of Japanese ponzu dressing. If you love Japanese cooking, I am sure you have had your fair share of seared ahi tuna salad. The good news is that I am sharing my Recipe with you, so you can start making this refreshing salad at home.

A good seared ahi tuna salad starts with three basic ingredients: sushi-grade ahi tuna, your favorite salad (I like spring mix or herb mix), and a superb Japanese ponzu sauce. Many people are confused by the name “ahi” tuna. Ahi is the Hawaiian word for two species of tuna: yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna. Yellowfin tuna is best served as sashimi (raw) or seared rare. For the dressing, my choice is Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu, which is widely used at Japanese restaurants. You just can’t go wrong with the choice of Japanese chefs and restaurateurs.

I have tried countless variations of seared ahi tuna salad at Japanese restaurants but my ultimate favorite is the ones served with tobikko roes (fly fish roes) and shredded roasted seaweed. The tobikko roes add the pleasing â��popping” texture and sensation to the mouth and the roasted seaweed gives its signature Japanese nuance. I also jazzed up the Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu dressing with a bit of ground sesame seeds and sesame oil. To cut the acidic taste, I sweetened it up with a little honey. Finally, for the star of this dish, I rubbed some shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) to the fish before searing. The end result is this gorgeous looking, refreshing, and appetizing seared ahi tuna salad.

I hope you like this seared ahi tuna salad recipe as much as I do. Enjoy!

It’s amazing how time flies, it’s almost August. I hope everyone is enjoying summer and busy firing up your grill for BBQ parties. Every summer, I host a small BBQ party where I invite only a few close friends—every year there is a theme, we dress up, eat really good food, and just enjoy the warm summer days. This year is no exception…

The theme of this year’s party was Wagyu beef and Japanese. If you love beef, I am sure you know that Wagyu beef is prized for its supreme tenderness, sublime flavor, and marbled texture. I got my Wagyu beef from Ohio Wagyu, they were flown in to me overnight. With the superior meat in my hand, I knew that I had to create a killer steak Recipe to impress my guests. I turned to my friend Harry Soo, a top BBQ Pitmaster in the US whose team Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ was featured on TLC Channel’s BBQ Pitmasters. Together, we developed this amazingly delicious and irresistible steak recipe with a ponzu and miso butter glaze, using none other than the Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu, MIZKAN HONTERI® Mirin Seasoning, miso, sake, and butter. The steak was a HUGE hit at the party…they were gone as soon as they were off the grill!

Now, you don’t need summer or an outdoor grill to have a great piece of steak. You can use an indoor grill or even pan-fry the steak. The ponzu miso butter glaze recipe is very easy, and it’s also great for fish, shellfish, and other meat of your choice (though I will say that it pairs perfectly with steak). I especially love the ponzu and miso butter glaze with the tender flank steak, which you can easily pan-fry in a pan.

If you love steak, you must give this flank steak recipe a try. The Mizkan ponzu and miso butter glaze is what makes the steak so mouthwatering and scrumptious, I am almost certain that you will love it.

(Click Page 2 for Flank Steak with Ponzu and Miso Butter Recipe)

Pages: 1 2

Japanese Beef Rolls with Ponzu
Makes about 12 rolls

Ingredients:

12 oz beef flap meat or flank steak
6 oz enoki mushrooms, ends trimmed
1 teaspoon butter
Oil, for pan-searing
1/2 tablespoon white and black sesame seeds, optional

Marinade

1 tablespoon Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base
1 tablespoon Mizkan HONTERI Mirin Seasoning
1 tablespoon sake

Serving Sauce

1/2 cup Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Soy Sauce

Method:

1. Slice the beef (across the grain) thinly to 3-inch by 5-inch pieces.
2. Marinate the beef slices with Mizkan (Bonito Flavored) Soup Base, Mizkan HONTERI Mirin Seasoning and sake for an hour.
3. Heat up the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the enoki mushrooms to the pan and cook for about 1 minute or until they are just done. (Do not overcook the enoki mushrooms, they should remain somewhat crunchy.)
4. Heat up the pan over medium heat. Grease the pan with some oil. Pan-sear the beef slices until both surfaces are slightly charred. Remove the beef from the heat.
5. In a serving dish, roll the beef with some enoki mushrooms and secure it with a toothpick. Drizzle some Mizkan AJIPON® Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Soy Sauce over the beef roll and topped with some sesame seeds. Serve immediately.