What’s Cooking in Kelli’s Kitchen

We’ll keep the intro short this week, folks. This recipe is involved—very involved, in fact. But if you can pull off this decadent appetizer, you’ll make all your friends jealous during your next dinner party. 

This week, we’re making what’s essentially an Asian-inspired crab cake tower. We’ll take sushi-grade tuna and mix it with creamy sriracha, mayo and scallions. Then we’ll fry up cakes of sushi rice and garnish them with avocado, microgreens, crispy wonton strips and tobiko (tiny fish eggs) for a nice crunch. 

By creating alternating textures of creamy and crispy, we’ll use bold, fresh flavors to build a star appetizer dish. 

Serves 6 

Ingredients: 

• 2 cup uncooked sushi rice 
• 2/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar, plus 1-2 tablespoons reserved 
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 
• 1 lb. raw sushi grade tuna, finely chopped or ground 
• ½ cup green onions, finely chopped 
• 2 tablespoons sriracha  
• ½ cup Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie) 
• 1 tablespoon honey 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce  
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt 
• 5-6 uncooked wonton wrappers, cut into small strips 
• 2-3 cups, high smoke point oil (vegetable, grapeseed, etc.) 
• ¾ cup cornstarch 
• 2 avocados 
• Kosher salt, to taste 
• 1 Persian cucumber, sliced thinly on a mandoline 
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds  
• ½ cup microgreens or daikon radish greens, cleaned up with some of the stems removed 
• 2 tablespoons, tobiko (optional) 

Instructions: 

Prepare the rice: 

1. Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear and drain. Add the appropriate amount of water and cook in a rice cooker.  
2. Whisk the granulated sugar into the 2/3 cup of rice vinegar. When the rice is cooked, turn it out into a clean bowl, and fold in the rice vinegar and sugar mixture.  
3. Line a sheet pan or baking dish with parchment paper and spread the rice out, flattening it with another piece of parchment paper on top and a heavy object. We want to get a nice compact layer of rice here, so we can cut out squares or circles to fry later. Set rice in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours. 

Make the spicy tuna mixture: 

1. Make sure your tuna is super finely minced/ground, so we can get the right creamy texture at the end. If you are using ahi tuna steaks, you can put the tuna in the freezer for 30 minutes, so it will slice easier with a sharp knife.  
2. Place the tuna and green onions in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine sriracha, mayonnaise, honey, soy sauce, ½ tsp of salt, and the reserved rice vinegar. Gradually, fold in the mayonnaise mixture until you get a super creamy texture. You may use all of the mayonnaise mixture, or you may not, just use your instincts. 
3. Once mixed, cover the bowl in plastic wrap and place in the fridge while your rice continues to chill. 

Prepare the garnishes: 

1. Once the rice has thoroughly chilled and has set to form a solid brick, prepare your remaining toppings. 
2. In a bowl, mash the avocado until it is slightly creamy with some chunks still remaining. Season to taste with salt and add a small amount lime juice to prevent browning. 
3. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or saucepan with high sides. When the oil reaches 375°F-400°F fry the wonton strips in batches, making sure they don’t stick together. They will only take a few seconds, so remove them as soon as they start to turn brown. Drain onto paper towels and season with kosher salt while they are still hot.If your oil has a large amount of wonton crumbs in it, use a skimmer to remove them. We will continue to use this hot oil to fry the rice cakes. 
4. Take the rice out of the fridge. Lightly grease a biscuit cutter and cut the rice into circles. You should be able to get 6 circles of rice. 
5. Reheat the oil to 375°F. Lightly dredge the rice circles in cornstarch and fry for about 5 minutes until crispy. Since we are not using flour, they will not develop a dark brown color. Drain onto to a rack or paper towels. 

Assemble the towers: 

1. Take the tuna out of the fridge, add a little bit of lime juice, and taste for seasonings. 
2. Assemble the towers by taking a fried rice circle, spreading with avocado, topping with sliced cucumbers, then the tuna, sprinkling with sesame seeds, topping with the microgreens, fried wontons, and tobiko. Garnish with additional sriracha and mayonnaise as desired. 

Erik Jimenez splits his time between the statehouse and the stove—he’s Nevada’s Chief Policy Deputy by day and an inventive chef by night. He brings flavor to everything he does—from state finance to five-star culinary delights.