Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna: Guest Post at This American Bite

May 9, 2013 · by ·

I’ve been meaning to make seared tuna for a long time. Every time I head in to my local fish market, I check to see if they have a nice piece of fresh tuna available. My dad once made a fantastic piece of sesame seared tuna and ever since, I’ve wanted to recreate this dish at home.

It finally happened. I wandered in to the fish market and I saw the piece of tuna. This wild caught tuna looked perfect.  I asked the shopkeeper to cut it to my specifications and I was on my way.  I had everything else at home! Dinner was on its way.

With tuna, it’s important not to overcook it. If you overcook tuna, it becomes grey and hard to chew. I prefer my tuna raw, in sushi, but I also love it lightly seared. For my family members that prefer it more cooked, I sear it a few minutes longer for them. Everyone is happy.

I marinated this tuna for about 20 minutes and then coated in a sesame crust. After searing and slicing, I served over a bed of wilted spinach, along side some sushi rice.

To see the full recipe and more, head on over to This American Bite!

Seared Tuna

Filed Under: Appetizers, Dinner, fish, Gluten Free, guest post, Main Course, seared, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Homemade Sesame Rice Crackers

August 14, 2012 · by ·
Sesame Rice Crackers

I have made crackers a few times. Those Mary’s Gone Crackers copycats were big hit in my house.

This time, I was looking for something with a similar crunch, but a bit different flavor – perhaps a little less nutty. I wanted something similar to those packages of Japanese senbei crackers I get at Whole Foods, or perhaps the sesame rice rounds I get at Trader Joe’s. I wanted a cracker that met somewhere in the middle. I definitely wanted to keep it gluten free, but with a good crunch. I also didn’t want to have to run out and buy too many new ingredients.

These crackers fit the bill. I had everything on hand. Definitely happy with the way they turned out and will make again – perhaps with a few flavor tweaks. These crackers are great with tapenade or hummus, or anything you would pair with a chip or cracker!

Sesame Rice Crackers
Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1 cup roasted sesame seeds
3.5 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
3 tsp. sesame oil
1 cup warm water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix everything together in a mixing bowl. The dough shouldn’t be too sticky and should come together. You can add a little more rice flour if it seems too sticky and wet.

Let the mixture sit for five minutes.

Spray a large baking sheet.

Pull of little teaspoon size pieces of dough and roll in to balls.

Similar to my previous cracker recipe, take a small square of oil sprayed parchment paper and press the ball on to the pan. You can use your hands, or you could use a heavy glass.

You want the cracker dough to be very thin, but you don’t want it to rip. Even if it rips though, it’s still tasty.

The crackers do shrink a little in the oven – so it’s ok if your dough rounds are touching.

Bake in oven for around 15-17 minutes. Check to make sure they don’t burn,

Cool on rack.

Sesame Rice Crackers

Enjoy!

P.S. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for Tribes-a-Dozen’s Voila! Hallah!

Filed Under: Appetizers, Gluten Free, snack · Tagged: , , , , ,

Gluten Free Crackers (Mary’s Gone Crackers Copycat Recipe)

February 20, 2012 · by ·

I’ve become a gluten free guinea pig. Scouring the web, bookstores, and brainstorming new ideas for gluten free meals and snacks. The main meals aren’t too complicated. Dinners have only needed minor tweaking to adapt to gluten free. The hardest area has been snack food. We aren’t a big cake/cookie family – but the kids likes her crunchy stuff. Pretzel sticks have always been a mainstay in her feeding therapies. There’s only so much popcorn one can handle.

Store-bought snacks are not cheap. Coupons are hard to come by for the kinds of foods we are looking for. So I am trying to make my own. When we first began our gluten free adventure, I asked a friend for pretzel ideas. She mentioned the Sticks & Twigs by Mary’s Gone Crackers.

I’ve quickly become addicted to these gluten free pretzels. They aren’t like ordinary pretzels. They are full of seeds and stuff. They have a great crunch. They have a nice, nutty flavor. More involved than a standard Snyder’s pretzel. Unfortunately, at $4.50 a bag – they don’t fit my budget too well.

Looking at the ingredient label, I pondered trying to make my own. The ingredients aren’t too complicated; brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds, and tamari. I have these ingredients in my pantry. While googling for ideas, I came upon the crackers of Mary’s Gone Crackers fame. They are basically the same pretzel taste in a cracker. I figured that I would tackle that first – and then I could move on to pretzels.

The first time I made the crackers – my results were uneven. Some pans came out ok, and some pans came out – well, not so ok. By the second time – I finally got it down pat. Similar to the pretzels, the crackers cost around $4.50 for way too few crackers. Happy to get about 3 times as many crackers at a significant savings by making my own. I do plan on playing with the recipe more to add flavors – like garlic and rosemary.

I am still determined to figure out how to make the pretzels – in the meantime, enjoy these yummy crackers!

Gluten Free Crackers (Mary's Gone Crackers Copycat Recipe)

 

 

Gluten Free Crackers (Mary's Gone Crackers Copycat Recipe)
 
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This recipe was slightly adapted from here.
Author:
Recipe type: Crackers, Snacks
Cuisine: Gluten Free
Ingredients
  • 1 cup quinoa (dry)
  • 1 cup brown rice (dry)
  • 2-3 tsp. water
  • 
2-3 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce
  • ⅓ cup whole, toasted flax seeds
  • ¼ cup chia seeds
  • 
1/4 cup black sesame seeds (could also use gomasio)
  • 2 tsp. salt
Instructions
  1. Prepare rice and quinoa as per your regular methods.
  2. Add cooked brown rice to Cuisinart and process with a small amount of water.
  3. You should process brown rice to a mush.
  4. Add quinoa to the mix and process a bit more to incorporate.
  5. Add the tamari or soy sauce and mix a bit more.
  6. Take the dough out and place in bowl. Mix in other seeds and seasonings with a wooden spoon. The mixture will be very sticky.
  7. Spray baking pan with oil spray or rub olive oil on baking sheet. Do not use parchment paper.
  8. Drop teaspoon size bits of dough on to cookie sheet. On a half sheet pan, I got around 16 balls.
  9. Take a small piece of parchment paper, spray lightly with oil and place on top of each ball and flatten. I pressed down on to the paper with a stainless steel measuring cup. It seemed to work best.  The cracker should be very thin and flat.
  10. Bake at 350 degrees. Keep an eye on the crackers. Remove them when they have browned and are comepletly dry. Don't let them burn. I took them out at around 17 minutes. Keep an eye out. Different pans conduct heat differently.
  11. Cool crackers on rack.
  12. Enjoy!

 

 

 
P.S. As a follow-up, I did succeed in making the pretzels. 
Filed Under: Gluten Free, munchies, Snacks, Vegan · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
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