Straight from Michelin Star restaurant, K&L Bistro in Sebastopol, California, this easy Tuna Tartare recipe is one to learn by heart.
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Made in a mere 15 minutes, this Tuna Tartare is a delectable combination of sushi-grade Ahi Tuna, buttery avocado, citrus and aromatics with a gentle sriracha kick and a tangy sweet, creamy dressing to finish. I bet it will be the best you’ve ever tasted.
And what’s more, there’s no cooking involved and the technique is a breeze. You just need a really sharp knife, really fresh cold tuna, and a gentle hand to fold everything together. You’ll press it into a small oiled mold if you want the fancy restaurant presentation (a dry measuring scoop works amazingly well for this), then finish with that ponzu drizzle.
Table of Contents
Recipe at a Glance
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 appetizer servings
- Skill Level: Beginner-friendly
Restaurant Origin
There aren’t many restaurants where I’m comfortable ordering absolutely anything on the menu, where I would just as soon not even look at the menu knowing that I’ll be wowed by whatever arrives at my table, but K&L is that kind of place.
The first time we ate at K&L, my dad and sister treated us to a lavish assortment of dishes. Suzanna (who was the restaurant’s manager at the time) insisted that we try the tuna tartare and she’s a woman to know and a woman who knows, so of course we tried it. After the meal, I conjured the courage to ask Suzanna if Karen and Lucas might, please oh please, share their recipe with me and perhaps allow me to share it with you. Oh generosity! They agreed.
Ingredients for Tuna Tartare
- Fresh Raw Tuna: best quality, sushi-grade tuna
- Shallot: One small shallot will be ample for this recipe even if you double it.
- Chives: look for fresh, firm, bright green chives or the green part of green onions if you can’t find fresh chives
- Salt: fine sea salt
- Olive Oil: good quality, extra-virgin olive oil
- Lemon: fresh lemon juice
- Sriracha Sauce
- Fresh Avocado: One small, ripe avocado is enough even if you double the recipe.
- Ponzu Sauce:
- Mayonnaise: good quality store bought or homemade mayonnaise
How to Make Tuna Tartare
With a very sharp knife, finely dice raw, sushi-grade tuna and avocado. Whisk together ponzu sauce and mayonnaise to taste.
Combine shallot, chives, salt, olive oil, lemon juice and sriracha sauce in a small bowl and stir to combine. Add diced tuna and avocado to shallot mixture and stir to combine.
For the most elegant presentation, oil the inside of a mold and set over a small serving plate. Spoon tuna mixture into mold and press to form. Carefully lift mold. Drizzle with ponzu mixture and garnish with microgreens if desired. Chill until ready to serve.
Pro Tips
- Buy Best-Quality Tuna: Tuna Tartare is all about the quality of the fish. Buy it from a fishmonger you trust and ask specifically for sushi-grade tuna. It should have a bright red, translucent color and a clean, ocean-y smell.
- Keep the Tuna Cold: I keep the tuna refrigerated right up until the moment I slice it. Cold fish is so much easier to dice cleanly.
- Use Your Sharpest Knife: A dull knife blade will smash and tear raw tuna instead of slicing it. Before you dice it up, trim away any sinew or dark bloodline first. Then slice the trimmed piece in smooth, single strokes for tidy quarter-inch cubes.
- Oil the Mold: If you want the molded presentation, brush the inside of a dry measuring scoop or metal cylinder made for molding with a nice layer of olive oil first so the tartare releases in one clean lift. I’ve made the mistake of trying to mold this without oiling first: mistake.
- Combine Just Before Serving: Similar to using citrus juice to “cook” ceviche, lemon juice will slowly firm the surface of raw tuna, so wait until you’re close to serving before you fold everything together. (This will keep the avocado from browning also.)
Recipe Variations
Though I love this appetizer exactly as it is, here are a few ideas for modifying or embellishing it if you like.
- Use sesame oil in place of all or part of the olive oil.
- Stir in a little bit of minced fresh ginger.
- In the springtime, use fresh spring onion instead of the shallot.
- Use fresh lime juice instead of fresh lemon juice.
- Add extra sriracha sauce for a spicy tuna tartare.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Tuna Tartare is at its best the day you make it, ideally within a few hours of mixing. If you have leftovers, cover them tightly and refrigerate for no longer than 1 day. If you want to prep anything early, the shallot and chives are fair game. You can also stir the ponzu and mayonnaise together earlier in the day. When you’re about ready to serve, dice the tuna and avocado and combine shortly before serving. No part of the dish is freezer friendly.
What to Serve With Tuna Tartare
My serving standbys for this tartare are simple seeded crackers and/or thin cucumber slices. If you want the full K&L experience, do what the restaurant does: brush pot sticker wrappers with buttermilk, press them into a mix of black and white sesame seeds, and fry at 300 degrees until golden and crisp. Or for a middle ground, serve with store-bought wonton chips.
Reader FAQ
Tuna Tartare is a dish that’s made from raw, sushi-grade tuna, diced small and combined cold with lemon juice or other dressing, aromatics, good quality olive oil and, often, avocado. It’s served as a cold appetizer to spoon onto crackers, thinly sliced cucumber or other accompaniments.
Shigefumi Tachibe, a French-trained chef who was born in Japan, invented the recipe for Tuna Tartare in 1984 at the Chaya Brasserie in Beverly Hills where he was the executive chef. He created the dish as an alternative to steak tartare for restaurant patrons who didn’t want meat.
The word tartare means, “chopped fine and served raw.” So the title of the dish means: tuna chopped fine and served raw.
Tuna tartare is made with raw, sushi-grade tuna.
Though similar, tuna tartare is made with diced raw tuna combined with a light sauce or dressing and other ingredients, where sushi is typically made with thinly sliced raw fish and served on or rolled with vinegared rice, nori and other ingredients.
More Raw and Rare Seafood Recipes
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Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon chopped shallot
- 2 teaspoons chopped chives
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce or more if you like it spicy
- 1/3 cup sushi grade tuna cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 1/2 avocado cut into 1/4 inch cubes, to taste
- ponzu sauce and mayonnaise mixed to taste
- microgreens for garnish, optional
- crackers or cucumber slices for serving
Instructions
- Combine first 6 ingredients (shallot through sriracha) and stir to combine. Add tuna and and avocado; gently stir to combine. Mound on a small serving plate or press into an oiled mold or small bowl and turn out onto serving plate for a more elegant presentation.
- Finish with a drizzle of sriracha sauce on plate along with a drizzle of combined ponzu with mayonnaise. Garnish with microgreens if desired and serve with crackers or cucumber slices.
Notes
- K&L serves the tartare with pot sticker wrappers that have been brushed with buttermilk pressed into a mixture of black and white sesame seeds and deep fried @ 300 degrees until golden brown.
- You can scale this recipe to serve as many as you like. Be sure to note the volume of your mold (if using) and use multiple serving plates or serve multiple stacks on a single plate.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Didn’t have ponzu so left that off at the end. Was still delicious!
So glad you enjoyed this, Jodi!
I made this for close friends at their anniversary dinner, and they’re big tuna tartare fans. Anytime we go out to dinner with them, if it’s on the menu, we order it. My friend said this one is her favorite out of all she’s ever had, and I agree! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Jenny, this is wonderful to hear! Thank you for coming back to tell me.
This is such a stunning and elegant Tuna Tartare and the colours are terrific – just like happy sunshine on a plate!
I love that, Ben! Thank you so much.
Sounds exquisite, Marissa! Sushi grade tuna is one of the loveliest things you can put in your mouth. And the pairing with avocado is, of course, a classic one. The flavorings here take it to another level!
Thanks so much, Frank! I agree about sushi grade tuna – nothing else quite like it.
Wow, this recipe comes straight from a Michelin-starred restaurant! That means I’m duty bound to make it as I’m sure it will be delicious. The colors and flavors in this recipe sound absolutely fantastic! I’ll have to figure out who has the best sushi grade Ahi tuna in town now!
I’m so excited for you to try this, David!
Marissa, this is STUNNING! The colors are beautiful and along with your garnishes, it’s a work of art. And I can almost taste how delicious it is. 🙂 ~Valentina
P.S. I have a friend who lives in Sebastopol so I just passed this along in case she doesn’t know the restaurant.
aww…thank you so much, Valentina! I’d bet she does no the restaurant – I just read this week that they’ve sold the restaurant after 21 years in business. I’m so grateful that they passed along this recipe – I’ll think of them with gratitude whenever I make it.
I can’t wait to try this recipe
This recipe is absolute perfection! We have made it 5 times in the last three months. If you can get sushi grade tuna, you need to make this.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe, Kay! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Made this almost two years ago while in Thailand. Couldn’t forget since then. Tomorrow i’m making this again!
I’m so happy to hear this, Aurelija! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
sounds amazing! I love sriracha sauce more than anything!
This sounds like it has all of the flavours that you would want in one of those tartares-I like the spicy, clean flavour of this! 😀
Me too – in fact I’ve started adding sriracha to canned tuna sandwiches too – love that flavorful kick.
I wish for a restaurant like that. There are so few around here that I truly like time after time, or where the food is great one time and the opposite the next. I´m longing for those cracker since, you know, I hate fish, but I´m going to look into that sriracha recipe! You and your sis are both beautiful Marissa!
You are very sweet Paula!
Sounds delicious!!! i love meat or tuna tartare, and i’ll try this for sure but … what is sriracha sauce ? and ponzu sauce?
Hi G. I wonder if you can find sriracha in Italy – if not here’s a recipe to make it at home http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/sriracha-recipe-chili-garlic-hot-sauce/ – it’s a pleasantly spicy, tangy sauce. And ponzu, here’s a recipe for that too http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/ponzu-sauce-10000001599636/. I think you could get away without the ponzu/mayo mix, but don’t leave out the sriracha!
No i cannot find these sauce in Italy, thanks for recipes!