Yam Tuna with Herbs

Yam Tuna with Herbs or Tuna Salad with Herbs is a healthy dish. Nowadays more and more people think about healthy diet – less process, less oil, less sodium and or no chemical but contains with all nutrition.  In Thai food, there are many different Thai dishes that are considered in the category of healthy food.

                                                   

For me I am always careful what to make for my family and I to eat, the food that I make have enough nutrition or is healthy enough or not. Some people say coconut milk is not good for your health but people in many tropical countries who consume coconuts (original they used coconut oil for cooking) for hundreds of years but they don’t have cardiovascular disease or obesity problem more than others, actually coconuts have some good nutrition. Over all I think beside what we eat we should think how much quantity to have for our body base on the input and output energy of each person. In general we don’t have an obesity problem in adults in Thailand but there are more and more overweight children, especially children in cities that have less active activities but with lots of corner shops and western junk food restaurants (in Thailand, going to the import western junk food restaurants is a privilege and it is popular). It becomes a global classic problem.

One of the most important ingredients of this dish is Piper Sarmentosum leaves. The leaves, are commonly used in traditional medicine, contain the antioxidant naringenin and in cuisine are used to wrap Miang Kham or a traditional snack. Miang Kham, is a bite size snack, made of roasted shredded coconut, roasted peanuts, shallot cubes, small ginger cubes, dried shrimp, a small piece of lime, small pieces of fresh chilli and a drop of thick sweet and salty sauce wrapped in Piper Sarmentosum so this Yum Tuna dish adapted the idea of Miang Kham snack.

This yam tuna dish is typical Thai, array of flavours that addresses all 5 taste senses – sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter. You can taste only a slightly bitterness at the end of the palate so it doesn’t really bother your enjoyment but it creates the sense of (all) good for your health.

***Piper sarmentosum is available at Asian grocery stores.

2 -3 servings

Ingredients

130 g.                   Tuna (solid) in oil

2                           Small shallots, slice thin (see picture)

2 tbsp                   Lemongrass, slice very thin

2 tbsp                   Ginger, cut into very thin stripe about 1 inch long

2 tbsp                   Galangal, cut into very thin stripe about 1 inch long

2 tbsp                   Kaffir lime leaves, cut into very thin stripe

2 tbsp                   Fingerroots (see picture from the link), slice into thin diagonal slices

12-15 leaves         Piper Sarmentosum

Herb cuts

Salad Dressing

2                           Fresh Thai chilli (spiciness is adjustable)

3 roots                   Coriander or cilantro

½ tsp                     Sugar

1 tbsp                    Fish sauce (saltiness is adjustable, depends on sodium in tuna and your palate)

2 tbsp                    Lime juice

Instruction

1. To make the dressing, crush fresh Thai chilli and coriander roots (cut into small pieces first) with mortar and pestle. Remove the mixture into a sauce bowl and then add sugar, fish sauce and lime juice, and mix well or until sugar dissolve. 
2. Remove the floating oil from tuna if there is too much oil (the tuna in a can I got in Ottawa is pretty dry and it is just perfect).
3. Combine all herb cuts or slices in a mixing bowl with tuna and pour into the dressing and mix well.
4. To serve, place a spoonful of the mixture on a piper leave and fold into a bite size. You can serve this dish as salad or finger food (snack). If piper leaves are not available – can be replaced with Chinese Napa or lettuce.