Seared Tuna with Soba Noodle Salad

The dish can be eaten with hot noodles and warm tuna or as a cold salad. It travels very well – make more than you need and take a portion into work in a Tupperware box.

1. Prepare the tuna. Wash and dry the tuna. Coat lightly with groundnut oil and pepper. Then roll in sesame seeds so that every side is evenly and thickly coated.
2. Prepare the mooli. Wash and peel part of the mooli. Use a julienne peeler to make sufficient strands for two portions. Place in a bowl of ice cold water.
3. Cook the spinach. Was the spinach and drain well. Cook on a high heat in a large wok with lid without adding further water. Turn the spinach often and cook until evenly wilted and just cooked through. Drain and plunge briefly into a bowl of ice cold water. Drain again. Now remove the excess water from the spinach. You will need to work out the best way to do this – my Harumi Japanese recipe book says to squeeze it in your hands – but I used two strainers alternating which was on top of the other and pressing each time to remove water from under and over the spinach. You could use a colander using a bowl to press out the water. Whichever way you do it the key to the success of this recipe is to extract all the water.
4. Cook the soba noodles. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the soba noodles until al dente. It’s best to stop what you are doing and concentrate on the noodles – they only take a few minutes. You need to ‘ride’ the dial on your cooker, adjusting the heat to keep the water at the boil but without boiling over. Keep testing the noodles until done. Then drain reserving a cup of the cooking liquid. Cool the noodles briefly under running water, drain and put into a large bowl or pan with the reserved cooking liquid and drizzle over a teaspoon of sesame oil. Stir the noodles often to stop them sticking.
5. Make the soy dressing. Start with a proportion of 40ml soy to 40ml groundnut oil. Add half a teaspoon of caster sugar and lemon to taste. It should taste like a dressing but have very noticeable soy and lemon notes.
6. Cook the tuna. This process will depend on the thickness of the tuna and heat of your pan. Use a thick cast-iron skillet if possible without oil. Put the heat to high and wait for the pan to get smoking hot. Place the tuna in the pan and cook for 1 – 2 minutes per side and edge. The sesame seeds should brown but not burn. You can make an exploratory stab with a knife. The idea is not to make seared sushi – there is a subtle difference: what we are after is very rare tuna – almost raw in the middle turning pink toward the edges and then grey and toasted at the very edge. I wrap my tuna in foil and leave it for several minutes. This has the effect of gently cooking the tuna all the way through.
7. Assemble the dish. Compress the spinach into a greased ramekin and turn out onto a plate. Drain, dry and twirl the mooli strands into a small nest and place on the plate. Drain the noodles and twirl into another nest and place on the plate. Cut the tuna into slices about 7mm thick and arrange on the plate. Serve with chopped spring onion or chives garnish (use some shisho if you have it). Put the soy dressing and sesame dressing in dipping dishes or small sauce boats and serve alongside the dish. For a crowd I normally serve each element in large serving bowls or dishes and let everybody help themselves.