My Attempt to Make Rosewood Market's Excellent Gingered Tuna Salad

My current food obsession is the Gingered Tuna Salad from the Grab and Go case at Rosewood Market. I tried to make it today and mine is good, but it's not creamy like theirs. I have a theory about that; just keep reading. These are the ingredients I used. I put a star by the ones listed on their container. I started with that list and guessed the quantities.

*6 ounces of tuna. So here's the theory you've been waiting for. At the deli, they told me they actually cook tuna steak to use in the salad. You know I wasn't doing that, so I substituted canned tuna. I used one from EcoFish that claims to be "sashimi grade fully cooked tenderloin," thinking that would be close enough. According to the ingredient list, no oil was used in cooking it. I think Rosewood's tuna salad might get its creamy texture from the oil used in baking the tuna steak. So, if you crave creaminess (that word and its variations are starting to make me gag), try baking an actual piece of raw tuna in a bit of oil. Or maybe use canned tuna packed in olive oil, but I'm not sure if olive oil would taste too strong. Or maybe stir a teaspoon or two of mayonnaise into the finished salad. Let me know how it goes. Incidentally, I'm happy with the way mine turned out and the tuna is good.

*1 green onion, green part only, thinly sliced on the diagonal.

*2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts. Please use organic. Just humor me. And here's a tip: if you can't find organic peanuts at the Fancy Mart, use one of their bulk containers to scoop some out of the top of that peanut butter grinder thingy and ask them to charge you by weight, as if you bought peanut butter. After all, it's the same product, just a different texture.

*1 tablespoon chopped, fresh cilantro

*3-4 thin slices of red pepper (about an eighth of an inch wide), cut in halves or thirds. Or not.

*2 tablespoons Annie's Naturals Organic Spicy Ginger Marinade, which can be found at your local Fancy Mart. Rosewood didn't have any out, so they sold me one that they had stashed in the kitchen. I'm persistent.

1 teaspoon sesame oil. I added this at the end, to try to make it creamier. Please don't reject this recipe because that word makes your skin crawl. You'll be missing out.

Put the tuna in a bowl and break it up with a fork. Add the onion, peanuts, cilantro and red pepper and stir everything together. Add the marinade and sesame oil and stir some more.

I made O, a nine year old with discerning taste beyond his years, do a blind taste test of both tuna salads. He did notice a difference, but preferred mine (I love that kid.) As much as I love the original, I'm over the creamy factor. The X-Man and A loved it.

I think this is one of those things that'll taste better a few hours from now, when the ingredients have had time to marinate. Also, the original listed salt as the last ingredient. I didn't add salt, because there was some in the canned tuna I used. A dash of lime or lemon juice might be good, too.

And that's what we did today.

Namasté, y'all!

P.S. The Mystery of the Creaminess is Solved!