What do you do
when you have 10 pounds of Ahi Grade Tuna loins, and a 2# bag of shrimp??? Have
a party!!!!… I want you to know that nothing went to waste. I have eaten
nothing but tuna the last 3 days, and I have LOVED it!! I shared the Tuna with
many friends and family and everyone was giving rave reviews about the product.
26/30 Cooked Tail On Farm-Raised; Caught in China; Packed in China;
“Goulian” brand:
These Chinese shrimp are actually soaked in
tri-poly phosphate, a kind of saltwater before they are frozen. This basically
makes them puff up, appear bigger, and makes them heavier.
The shrimp had a delicious crunch when we ate them. The flavor was great even though they were from China. I have not developed a taste for tri-poly phosphate yet so I didn’t really notice it. I didn’t add any seasoning to the shrimp, we just ate them as they came with cocktail sauce so we could get the true taste of them as they are. They were a hit.
As for the Tuna, I had 2 loins, about 5# each. One was a beautiful bright red color because it was CO treated. Tuna’s flesh color changes based on what it eats. The ones that have naturally bright red flesh are immediately bought by the Japanese because they are considered the best quality. Americans get the leftovers. Buy, the Americans found, that even when the flesh is a brownish color, if the meat is CO Cold Smoked, it turns a vibrant red. So, one loin was CO treated and bright red, the second was a brown, and all natural. Both are highest quality sashimi grade AAA Tuna loins! What a treat!!!!
To everyone that tried the Tuna, I told them all about how the flesh changes shade based on what the Tuna eats. I told them about the cold smoking and how the color changes so brilliantly. I did notice that the darker tuna got some funny reactions from people. It was an automatic response in their heads that the darker one was not up to par like the brilliant red one, even though it is highest quality and all-natural. I decided that the best way to test the tuna, was to literally do as much as I could with what I had. Other than sushi, we cooked it and ate it with dinner, seared it and laid it on a salad, and just ate it raw….
The first night we made sushi! My friends planned an Asian-style dinner around the tuna… Miso Soup, edemame, Sake, and Kirin Beer. We made lots of little spicy tuna rolls! We used the “Marumi” brand Ahi tuna the first night (because the bright red color was favored by the people that were helping me test it). It was incredible. We couldn’t even wait for the rice to finish cooking.. as I was cutting the loin up, people were coming by and snagging pieces off the cutting board! We mashed some up for the sushi rolls, sliced some up for hand rolls, sliced some up for Nigiri-style sushi, and sliced smaller chunks for searing.
For breakfast the next morning, we made another batch of spicy tuna rolls, and made 5-6 tupperware containers full of the little rolls so everyone could have a little for lunch! One of my friends that was here for the taste testing is Japanese and she says that this is what they eat for breakfast, this and just the sashimi.
The next day, my mom and I cut up the loin of Yellowfin into several smaller pieces because the large loin took up too much room in the fridge! (This is the brown colored, all-natural one!) We seared half of the pieces on the outside, leaving the inside raw. The plan was to cut them up and put them on a salad with Ginger dressing later in the evening. I lightly peppered the outside before I seared them. Adding anything else to these delicious morsels would be a crime!
For lunch on Saturday, my Mom, Brother and I made Spicy Tuna hand rolls… You get a lot more of the good stuff when you make them hand rolls!! They were a hit. My brother was actually making his next one while he was still chewing the previous one! That’s how much he was loving it!!
When we first tested the Yellowfin Tuna, we thought it was a little fishy tasting. Once we seared it though, it was absolutely to die for!
For dinner, we cut up enough pieces, of the Yellowfin Tuna, seared them, and took them (along with a whole fancy dinner) to my grandparent’s house. They live very close to us. We all enjoyed Seared tuna with Rice Pilaf for dinner. I did notice that when the tuna is cooked all the way through (Grandparents don’t like the raw stuff), the fish was a little dry and needed some fresh lemon juice. I could tell when it was being cooked that there was VERY LITTLE fat coming out of the fish.
For Breakfast Sunday, I made an entire plate of Spicy Tuna Handrolls with the remaining mix, and surprised my family! They were all so excited and I could barely take a picture of the plate before it was devoured. My family is a huge fan of sushi and Tuna so this was just such a treat for all of us
For dinner on Sunday night, we tossed a salad with spinach, Romaine lettuce, tomato and avocado, and laid thin slices of the seared Ahi Tuna from the day before over the top. Complete with Ginger dressing this was a delicious dinner! 
.JPG)
.JPG)
