Tuna poke
East of Grafton 1580 Argyle Street
Warm wood, exposed brick, moody lighting—there are a lot of things about East of Grafton’s ambience that scream timeless tavern. But the menu? Not so much. Walking the line between challenging and comforting its diners, the restaurant adventure dishes out bar food with a side of exploration. “This dish was inspired by food I love to eat,” says chef de cuisine Matt Kelly, who shares his Hawaiian-style take on tuna. “I wanted to do a dish that’s a little more adventurous that your traditional tavern fare—which is what we try to do at East of Grafton.”
Ingredients Tuna marinade ½ pound yellowfin tuna 2 tbsp soy sauce ½ tsp sesame oil ½ tsp minced garlic
Sushi rice 1 cup sushi rice 1 ½ cups water 1 tbsp rice vinegar 1 tbsp sugar ½ tbsp kosher salt
Plating toasted macadamia nuts, rough chopped thinly sliced jalapeños sesame seeds, black and white ponzu mayo
Method Tuna marinade Dice tuna into small to medium size pieces mix with tuna marinate for minimum 2 hours and maximum 2 days.
Sushi rice Rinse sushi rice about three times or until water runs clear. Mix rice and water and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook rice until water has been absorbed. Cover rice with Saran Wrap and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, dissolve remaining ingredients together. Mix dissolved ingredients into rice. Plating Make a small pile of sushi rice in the middle of a bowl, top with chopped tuna, drizzle tuna with mayo, place jalapeños on top and finally scatter macadamia nuts and sesame seeds on top. Enjoy with chopsticks!