Tuna Tartare in sesame ginger sauce
Ever wanted to make tuna tartare at home? This tuna tartare in sesame ginger sauce is easy to make and will impress your guests!
What is tuna tartare?
To get started, tuna tartare is a simple dish consisting of raw tuna that is cut up into small cubes with whatever flavors one prefers added in. Traditionally tartare is prepared with beef, however, using fish has become extremely popular and makes this dish appealing to a larger group of people.
There is so much popularity out there now with sushi, poke bowls and tartare, especially considering the vast amount of flavors that can be integrated. But like anything trendy, they can be expensive to eat at restaurants! Luckily, tuna tartare is actually so easy to make at home, requires no cooking, and is healthy and delicious!
How to make tuna tartare:
When buying tuna to make tartare, make sure to buy it from a reputable shop and always make sure to ask someone if it is sushi grade tuna. That is what you’re looking for! The fish should have a nice deep red color and there should be no fishy smell. Ensure the tuna remains chilled and on ice until right before it is prepared and served.
I recommend to always use some acid in any raw fish recipes (tartare, carpaccio, ceviche, ect). The acid creates a reaction (denaturing the protein), which essentially breaks down and rearranges the proteins in the fish the way they would be if it had been cooked. Amazing right?! This not only takes us back to our high school chemistry days, but it also makes the fish safe to eat raw, which is pretty important.
Another important thing to remember when making this tuna tartare in sesame ginger sauce is to use a sharp knife! This will make the process SO much easier when preparing the tartare and will keep the fish tender!
This tuna tartare in sesame ginger sauce is:
- High in protein
- Low-carb
- Gluten-free
- requires zero cooking
You can also switch up the type of sauce or the ingredients used in this tartare, but sesame ginger is my absolute favourite!
PrintTuna Tartare in sesame ginger sauce
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Chop
- Cuisine: Japanese
Description
A simple and healthy tuna tartare recipe that will be sure to impress anyone!
Ingredients
Tartare
- 300 grams of sushi grade Tuna, cut into small cubes
- 4 green onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 avocado, chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 cup diced cucumber
- A handful of cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsb lime juice
- pinch of salt & pepper
Sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. grated ginger
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- 2 tbsp soy sauce, gluten-free if needed
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a bowl and mix together. Set aside.
- Add the cut up tuna, green onions and sesame seeds directly to the bowl of sauce and mix until combined.
- in a separate bowl, mix together the finely chopped avocado, cucumber, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper.
- Plate your tartare by using a mould (like this), or a circular ramekin (like this)
Notes
Serve these up with your favourite rice crackers on the side!
If using a ramekin, build your tartare inside, and then carefully flip over onto a plate.
Garnish your tartare with sriracha, cilantro, and sesame seeds
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
- Calories: 430
- Sugar: 9g
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 8g
- Protein: 30g
Keywords: tuna tartare recipe, how to make tuna tartare
This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase through those links. I only recommend products that I know, trust and love!
This is so delicious! Am wondering if you can substitute salmon for tuna?
Hi Marian, Yes, Absolutely!
Delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks Cindy!
I made this twice and I loved both times. I bought the tuna at Trader Joe’s and it already had the sesame seeds on it. I used less soy sauce though to keep sodium down. I would highly recommend making this.
★★★★★
Thanks Kim! Happy you loved it!
The original recipe is great already. You may want to try replacing the sesame oil with olive. I like more with olive as somehow the smell of sesame oil is not combined well for my taste here with the other ingredients, but my wife prefers the original version, so swapping the oils from time to time 🙂 It also goes well with very young marrow instead of cucumber if you want to experiment.
★★★★★
So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Once I have made this (YUM!) I can’t eat it all at once, as I lve alone…. How long can I keep ndividual ramekins in the fridge or can I freeze them?
Happy you enjoyed Susan! I wouldn’t recommend keeping this in the fridge for more than 24 hours, since it is raw. This recipe can’t be frozen either
This is the best recipe. So impressive yet completely foolproof.
Thanks Maria! Happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Excellent!
★★★★★
Thanks Tina! Happy you enjoyed!
Going to try out tomorrow for Saints game⚜️🌈
Enjoy Heather! 🙂
Good recipe
★★★★★
Thanks Chelsi! Glad you enjoyed!
Sounds amazing. Question..what acid do you add to the fish? I see lime juice with the avocado.
What do you recommend?
Can’t wait to try this.
Hi Michelle, the lime juice is aacidic 🙂
Wow, this was a hit with every adult at our dinner party – so easy to make and impressive to serve! I made it with freshly caught blue fin tuna from the San Diego/Baja region.
I love the layered look, but the ramekin method is a bit messy bec it doesn’t want to come out. I will try a ring next time made out of a tunafish can. This recipe is a keeper, thank you!
★★★★★
Thank you Penny! Sounds so wonderful, you can buy round ring moulds which is best to get the perfectly round shape 🙂
I use plastic wrap inside the ramekin, lightly sprayed, so when I flip it I can carefully remove the wrap.
Hope this helps.
Hi Jessica, great recipe! I made all the elements separately and served them to make poke bowls, along with shredded carrots, red peppers, mango cubes, strawberry cubes, they were so much fun to build. Question. What would you say is the minimum amount of time for tuna to be in the marinade? My tuna got a bit browner than yours because I made it ahead, but for a dinner at home, I’d like to plan for it to be just enough to have the bright tuna color on the plate. Thank you!
Thank you! Happy you enjoyed!
Great delicious recipe! Quick question: do you use both the stem and the bulb of the spring onion?
★★★★★
Hi Catherine, I like to use all of the green onion but if you prefer a more mild taste you can use just the greens!
Thank you for the recipe! Is it fine to use just untoasted sesame seeds or will the taste be impacted?
Hi Judy, toated sesame seeds are definitely best for the flavour. I’d highly recommend toasted your seeds.
Rating it based on the sauce…….wonderful! One question. What is the difference between a spring onion and a green onion? Thanks!
★★★★★
Thank you Andrea! Green onion and spring onion are often used interchangeably, though technically spring onions are the ones with a bit of a bigger bulb on the bottom
I am getting ready to make either salmon tartare or tuna tartare for a party. I’ve been scared as I’ve read so much about raw fish causing people to get very ill. I had always thought that the marinade basically “cooked” the fish. Is tuna tartare safer to go with than salmon? I would think they’re basically the same…….
★★★★★
Hi Gina, salmon isn’t safer than tuna, they’re both the same. Make sure to buy from a reputable shop and ask for sushi-grade tuna or salmon to use.
I made this tonight and it was outstanding. This is a keeper for sure.
★★★★★
Thank you Nancy! So glad you enjoyed!
This recipe is amazing. Thank you so much
★★★★★
Thank you for the review Bec! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi, Jess – This was a great recipe, and we will definitely make it again!
Next time, we will try using finely chopped fruit (maybe grapefruit or mango) and roasting the garlic, since we enjoyed those variations at restaurants near us.
One important request: Can you please change the font size and font color used for the printed recipe? We have tried to print this recipe for our recipe book, and the final printout is a very light gray that is also so thin it is barely readable, even with super-high resolution printing.
Thanks!
Alan
★★★★★
Hi Alan, thank you for the review! I will look into it for the print page, thank you for letting me know!
So simple and absolutely delicious
★★★★★
Thank you Dan! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I tried out this recipe for a dinner party I hosted last weekend and it was such a hit! I love fish and especially sushi, but I had always been intimidated making tartar myself so I had never tried. This recipe is so easy and delicious! I will be making this regularly now for sure!
★★★★★
Thanks Alyssa! I used to make this for dinner with friends too. It’s always s much fun and WAY cheaper than ordering it in a restaurant!