Maguro Zuke Don (Marinated Tuna Sashimi Bowl)

Maguro zuke don is a delicious rice bowl dish made with fresh raw tuna soaked in a rich soy based marinade. Not only is it mouthwatering, but it's extremely simple to make and requires barely any cooking!

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• What is Maguro Zuke Don?
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What is Maguro Zuke Don?

Maguro zuke don (マグロ漬け丼) is a type of rice bowl topped with marinated raw tuna. You can often find it served in teishoku style restaurants or sometimes Japanese style pubs we call "izakaya".

To be honest, this dish is not commonly made at home, even in Japan. However it's extremely simple to make, so why not?

Tekka don VS Maguro don

There are two popular types of raw tuna bowls, one is "maguro don" (マグロ丼) and the other is called "tekka don" (鉄火丼).

While they look the same to the untrained eye, there are actually small technical differences between tekka don and maguro don. To be honest, it's almost never mentioned anywhere and even I didn't know until recently, but here are the key differences!

	Tekka don (鉄火丼)	Maguro don (マグロ丼)
Rice	Use sumeshi (sushi rice with vinegar)	Use white rice without vinegar
Tuna	Use red part of tuna only	Can use any parts of tuna
Toppings	Sauce, wasabi, spring onion...etc	Sauce, wasabi, spring onion...etc

So basically, the main differences are whether you use sushi rice or regular unseasoned rice and which part of the tuna you use.

They are such small details that many Japanese people also don't know the difference between the two, but I thought it's interesting to mention!

With this in mind, it's up to you whether you make tekka don or maguro don, you can make either by following my recipe!

Marinade

For the marinade, I use 4 simple ingredients that are essential for Japanese cooking:

• Soy sauce
• Mirin
• Sake
• Kombu (dried kelp)

It literally only takes a few minutes to mix everything!

I like to marinate the tuna for about 30 minutes. You can marinate it longer than this but be aware that colour of the tuna will get darker as the time goes by, and the flavour will get stronger too. It depends on your preference!

What kind of tuna to use

As maguro zuke don is made with raw tuna, the most important thing is to use tuna that is fresh and specifically labelled as "sashimi-grade" or "sushi-grade". Sushi-grade fish is prepared in such a way that it is safe to eat at home raw.

As for which part of the tuna to use, generally you can use any part. Just keep in mind that if you specifically want to make "tekka don", you can only use the red part of the tuna. (If you use the pink, fattier parts, then the dish will become maguro don.)

The red part is generally known as "akami" (赤身) and is quite lean and meaty. It's one of the most common cuts because there's a lot of it, it's also reasonably priced compared to the other parts.

The fattier parts are known as "toro" and have a melt in the mouth texture. "Chutoro" (中トロ) is the medium fatty part and "o-toro" (大トロ) is the extra-fatty part from the front of the belly. These parts are usually more pink in colour, they're considered higher grade and are more expensive too.

If you buy raw tuna in a block, you can cut it into "sashimi style slices" or "cubes" depending on your preference.

Toppings

To complete the taste and look of the dish, you can add different toppings.

In my recipe, I use:

• Ooba leaves (Perilla)
• Raw egg yolk
• Sesame seeds
• Wasabi

However, you can top the dish with other things such as:

• Chopped spring onions
• Radish sprouts
• Nori seaweed

If you want to make it into teishoku style, you can also serve it with miso soup and pickles on the side!

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