Rintaro’s Marinated Tuna Over Rice (Maguro No Yukke)

Serves 4

Dashi stock

1 1-inch piece kombu

1 ounce shaved bonito flakes

Kaeshi sauce base

2¾ cups mirin

2 cups white shoyu

1¾ ounces shaved bonito flakes

Marinated tuna

12 ounces sashimi-grade bigeye or yellow tail tuna Fine sea salt as needed

½ cup Japanese soy sauce

½ teaspoon grated garlic

1 tablespoon juice from grated ginger Scant 1⁄8 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

To serve

Steamed rice to serve

4 shiso leaves

4 large pasture-raised egg yolks

2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions, washed three times in cold water to crisp, drained and stored on a paper towel

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Thinly shredded nori to garnish

For the dashi: Slowly heat 2 cups water and the kombu in a small pan over medium-low heat. Remove the kombu when small bubbles form on the side of the pot, about 20 minutes. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the bonito flakes, return to a boil, then turn off heat. Allow to sit for 10 minutes and then strain through cheesecloth.

For the kaeshi: Bring the mirin to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shoyu and bonito flakes, reduce heat to low and cook for about 35 to 40 minutes. Strain and cool. The consistency will be a bit syrupy.

(The recipe makes more dashi and kaeshi than you’ll need to marinate the tuna, but you can save for another use.)

For the marinated tuna: Pat the tuna with a damp paper towel. Lightly salt the tuna, wrap tightly in a dry paper towel and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Slice the tuna into ½-inch cubes.

In a large bowl, combine ½ cup dashi, soy, ½ cup kaeshi, garlic, ginger juice and sesame oil. Add the tuna to the dashi mixture, gently tossing to combine. Let soak for 1 minute then strain briefly.

To serve: Place a generous amount of rice in 4 bowls. Arrange a shiso leaf on each bowl of rice and cover with marinated tuna. Form an indentation in the tuna for the egg yolk and garnish with the scallions, sesame seeds and a poof of the shredded nori.