Eastern Style Tuna Nicoise Salad with Tea Marbled Eggs and Wasabi Vinaigrette
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 2 to 4 servings
- Total: 1 hr 40 min
- Prep: 25 min
- Inactive: 1 hr 10 min
- Cook: 5 min
Ingredients
Tuna:
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon peeled grated ginger
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
Two 6 to 8-ounce Ahi tuna steaks
Wasabi Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
Juice of 1 lemon or 1/4 cup clear rice vinegar
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon light brown sugar
Pinch sea salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Salad:
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
Sea salt
2 tablespoons peanut oil
8 ounces French green beans, blanched
4 ounces mixed greens
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
8 Tea-Marbled Quail Eggs, recipe follows, or 2 large eggs, medium-boiled and quartered
1 small Romaine lettuce heart, thinly shredded crosswise
2 teaspoons brined capers, drained
8 pitted kalamata olives
Tea-Marbled Quail Eggs:
12 fresh quail eggs
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
3 whole star anise
2 black tea bags
Directions
- For the tuna: Whisk together the mirin, ginger and soy until combined. Add the tuna, toss well to coat, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- For the wasabi vinaigrette: Whisk together the soy sauce, wasabi paste and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Add the oil in a slow, steady stream while whisking constantly until combined. Season with the sugar, salt and white pepper and stir well.
- For the salad: Remove the tuna from the marinade, shake off the excess and sprinkle the five-spice powder and sea salt equally over all sides. Heat a cast-iron skillet or flat griddle over high heat. Add the oil and heat until rippling, and then sear the tuna in the hot pan, 1 minute per side. Let the tuna rest for 5 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.
- To serve, divide the green beans, mixed greens, tomatoes, Tea-Marbled Quail Eggs and Romaine 2 plates. Fan the tuna slices over the top, scatter the capers and olives over the salads and drizzle the dressing evenly over each plate.
Tea-Marbled Quail Eggs:
- Put the quail eggs in a small saucepan and cover with 2 cups of cold water. Add the five-spice, dark soy, light soy, sugar, star anise and tea bags and heat over high heat until the water begins to bubble. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Lift the eggs, a few at a time, out of the liquid with a slotted spoon and crack them all over with the back of a teaspoon, leaving the shells on. Return the eggs to the liquid and let stand until cooled. Chill the eggs in their liquid in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. Peel the eggs and rinse briefly just before serving.