Tuna Carpaccio with Lemon and Soy

This is a classic preparation for Raw Tuna that showcases the meaty and delicious flavors of this wonderful Fish. We have kept this recipe super-simple so it is easy to make at home by only using a handful of everyday ingredients. We dress the Tuna Carpaccio with Lemon and Soy for a bright and slightly salty seasoning that pairs wonderfully with the fatty Tuna. It’s a dish that can be made any day or the week for lunch or a light appetizer and tastes phenomenal!

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Get your hands on good quality, Sashimi Grade Tuna

The key to any dish is good quality ingredients, but that is so prominent when it comes to raw Fish. In fact, you need to ensure you are purchasing sashimi-grade Tuna before even attempting to make this dish. You could get sick if the Tuna is not readily available to be eaten raw

I would always recommend you check before you purchase the Tuna to ensure it is Sashimi grade. If not sure, ask the fish monger who should steer you in the right direction. The good news is that this dish can be transferred to other raw fish preparations, so if the store doesn’t have Tuna you can replace it with the likes of Salmon or Kingfish, and it’ll turn out great

Good quality Sashimi grade Tuna is going to make this dish so amazing

Ahi-Tuna is a great choice for Sashimi and is popular in loads of nice restaurants all over the world. You can use different cuts of Tuna too, from the leaner back and sides, to the famous Toro Tuna – the Fatty Belly. Toro can cost a lot of cash, however, so pick whatever is within your price range

Preparing the Tuna

Other than finding the produce, the next most challenging part of preparing your Tuna Carpaccio with Lemon and Soy is slicing the Tuna. With such a simple dish, presentation is key to make this dish stand out. Nice, even cuts are what you are after, so a very sharp and heavy knife is the best choice

Take your time with the cuts, and don’t try to cut the fish too thin. Tuna can break up if it’s cut wafer thin, so aim for cuts that are what you would typically see on a piece of Tuna Sushi. For the cutting motion, aim to cut through the entire fish in one slice. This will prevent any ‘hacking’ of the fish and will result in the smoothest, cleanest cut possible

Slices of Tuna Carpaccio with Lemon — The key to a great Tuna Carpaccio with Lemon is making even, smooth cuts of the Tuna with a sharp knife

Cut your fish into uniform pieces and then set them aside. If you do hack up a few pieces that’s totally ok. This isn’t going to be served at a restaurant anyway and it’s going to still taste great! What I like to do with the hacked pieces (and offcuts / trimmed pieces) is to cut them into a dice and serve them on the side. There’s’ no point letting any of this delicious Tuna go to waste

The simplest Sauce ever!

Once you’ve sliced your Tuna you can creatively plate them however you choose. There’s no right or wrong way to plate it, just have some fun laying them out on the plate. I prefer to not overlap them too much, that way this beautiful Sauce has a chance to evenly cover those beautiful slices of Fish

The Sauce itself is simply a combination of Lemon Juice and Soy Sauce. There’s no need for Salt as the Soy Sauce is already salty. As this is an appetizer you don’t need a whole lot of sauce either, and the juice of ½ a Lemon will be more than enough

Lemons don’t always produce the same amount of juice every time, so get as much juice out of the ½ a Lemon as you can and strain it through a sieve to not only remove the seeds, but any of the fleshy bits that have broken off. You can eyeball how much Soy Sauce you need, working to about a 3:1 ratio of Lemon Juice to Soy Sauce

Mix the sauce all together and give it a taste. It may taste a little too tart because of the Lemon ratio, but that’s what we want. When it’s paired with the rich fattiness of the Tuna the flavors will mellow out and contrast perfectly

Slices raw Tuna with Lemon Zest and Chili — Keep the plating simple, and add a few delicious toppings such as Lemon Zest and Chili slices to make the plate look amazing

Finishing the dish for plating

All you need to do is pour over a few spoonful’s of the wonderful sauce. You can either pour it on the side, or over the top of the Tuna. Bear in mind, however, that if you pour the sauce straight over the Tuna it will start to ‘cook’ it. So, the color of the Tuna will start to change almost immediately

Finishing the dish, you can add some additional toppings for some extra color, flavor, and texture. You can do whatever you like here but try to avoid aggressive flavors that will completely overpower the dish. We added a few shavings of Lemon Zest to add more brightness to the dish. The whole thing is finished off with a few slices of Red Chili for some added kick

The Chili is optional, but I would suggest exploring some kind of topping to add to the dish to give it a little bit more pop of color on the plate. I also suggest that you aim to plate the dish using a plate and not a bowl. We don’t want to hide those beautiful slices of Tuna. A large plate with the Tuna nicely spread out will work perfectly for this amazing Tuna Carpaccio with Lemon and Soy dish

Summer Tuna Carpaccio with Lemon and Soy — Our Tuna Carpaccio with Lemon and Soy is the perfect light meal to enjoy during the Summertime

The perfect dish to enjoy during the warm weather

While you can enjoy fresh Seafood all year round, when it comes to Sashimi and Carpaccio there’s nothing better than enjoying it during the warm weather. It is a light and refreshing bite of food that is surprisingly filling (due to the richness of the Tuna), making it perfect to enjoy during the warm months

Any recipe that doesn’t require using a heat source is always welcome during the Summer, making Tuna Carpaccio the ideal choice. No frying, baking, or roasting required, so your house will remain nice and cool as you prepare and enjoy this wonderful meal

Recipe Details

Servings

2 people

Prep time

15 minutes

Cooking time

Total time

15 minutes