ahi tuna nachos.

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Ahi tuna "nachos" with mango-jicama salsa and wasabi cream. 

My mom and I got the idea (and basically, the recipe) for these while looking through our Guy Fieri cookbook  last week for a Girls Night she was attending.

My mom has the most awesome friends, who throw the most awesome Girls Nights. 

Their most recent one was a Christmas theme, including a game of "gift swap" with a new rule: anyone stealing anyone elses gift had to take a shot of tequila first. Seriously, these girls are more fun than me and my friends. Or at least on par. Anyways.

The salsa in this recipe is worth making all by itself. Mango, jicama, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, sweet chili sauce and a touch of sea salt, left to marinate for the afternoon. Awesome combination of flavours and textures, with the jicama adding a touch of crunch. I'd eat this salsa on its own, fo sho. 

Chopped ahi grade tuna was also delicious and flavourful tossed with a sweet soy sauce. (Hint: buy it frozen and let it thaw for 10 minutes before chopping for the cleanest cuts.)

Again, the sweet soy sauce was awesome completely by itself. I ate this stuff with a spoon while assembling and could be seen "cleaning" the bowl before putting it into the dishwasher. I'd like a bottle of this stuff in my fridge at all times. The perfect mix of salty soy sauce and pungent garlic, sweet sesame oil and ginger, and a slight kick from chilli flakes. So good.

Assemblage is pretty straightforward. The original recipe for this called for wontons carefully fried at home into to the shape of mini tacos. We didn't have time to fry up any wontons, so we adapted it slightly to turn these into little asian-inspired nachos of sorts. And they were still delicious.

We tossed the tuna and salsa together at the last minute, then topped fresh, handmade tortilla chips that we picked up from Cafe Mexico with the mixture, topping each with a drizzle of wasabi cream.

Salty, sweet, crunchy and tender, these little bites packed a lot of flavour. 

Apparently, they were a huge hit with a discerning group of girls who love their food (I come by it honestly.) Two empty platters at the end of the night is always a good sign. 

Yum,

yum,

yum.

Ahi Tuna Nachos

Serves 8

Recipe adapted from Guy Fieri Food: Cookin' it, Livin' it, Lovin' it

Need:

Tortilla chips (try to stay away from Tostitos and go for a better quality chip like Que Pasa)

1 pound sashimi-grade ahi tuna, 1/4-inch diced

pea shoots for serving

Mango-Jicama Salsa

2 large mangoes, cubed

1/2 cup 1/4-inch diced jicama

1/2 cup 1/4-inch diced red onion

2 tablespoons minced cilantro

2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

2 teaspoons seeded, finely diced jalapeno

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Sweet Soy Sauce

1 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes

1/4 teaspoon wasabi powder

Wasabi Cream

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons wasabi powder

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

To do:

In a small bowl, gently combine all ingredients of salsa. Allow flavours to marry for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Whisk all ingredients of sweet soy sauce in a small bowl until well combined. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or until ready to serve.

Combine all ingredients of wasabi cream in a large bowl. Beat on high until mixture forms stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. This is best if served immediately after making, but refrigerate until needed if necessary.

Assemble nachos on bed of pea shoots for serving, making sure that each nacho gets pieces of mango, tuna and red onion and drizzle each with wasabi cream right before serving.

Hint: for easier drizzling, we put the wasabi cream in a ziplock baggie and made a tiny incision on a corner. Worked like a charm.

Enjoy!

Serving with tequila; optional.