ingredients

✦ tuna tartare

• 1 lb sushi-grade tuna (stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes — makes it way easier to dice)
• 1 shallot, finely diced (or half a red onion)
• 2 red chili peppers, thinly sliced (not thai peppers — those will be too spicy)
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp calamansi juice (lime works, but calamansi is preferred)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (plus more to taste)
• 1 tbsp sugar (plus more to taste)
• 1–2 tbsp coconut water (to loosen the dressing if it's too strong)
• ½ mango, diced
• salt & freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

✦ rice paper boat

• rice paper sheets
• neutral oil, for shallow frying

✦ garnish

• gochugaru, for dusting

cooking steps

1. cut the tuna into small dice.
2. mix the dressing: light soy sauce, sugar, calamansi juice, grated ginger, and coconut water. taste and adjust — add more soy for saltiness, more sugar for sweetness, more coconut water if it's too strong.
3. toss the diced tuna with the dressing, diced shallot, sliced red chili, and diced mango. season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. to make the boat: heat oil for shallow frying, slide in a sheet of rice paper, and quickly press a ladle into the center to shape it into a bowl/boat. it puffs and crisps fast — be careful, this takes some practice.
5. spoon the tuna tartare into the rice paper boat.
6. sprinkle gochugaru over the boat and serve immediately.