Morimoto Tuna Pizza

I haven’t been to Morimoto in a while but I remember one of the best appetizers I tried was a “tuna pizza” with tuna sashimi, jalapeño, red onion, olives and an anchovy aioli atop a crisp, thin flour tortilla. Rather to go back and pay the hefty price I figured out how to make it myself. Yes, I’m cheap that way.

The genius here is to brush the top of the tortilla with “eel sauce”, the classic BBQ sauce that goes with Japanese unagi, before grilling it. The rest is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. The hardest decision you’ll face will be to either go with a swirl or criss-cross pattern with the anchovy aioli. You don’t like anchovies? No problem. Use sriracha instead. You don’t like sriracha? Stick to Domino Pizza. You arrange harmoniously a sprinkling of colorful vegetables and olives on top, slice and go. It will be the most delicious two-minutes you ever spent.

Who said that cooking was difficult?

  • Morimoto Tuna Pizza

    • Adapted from Morimoto
    • Serves 4
    • For the tuna pizza:
    • 4 flour tortillas, about 7 inches in diameter
    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/2 cup barbecued eel sauce (available in Asian specialty stores)
    • 10 ounces sushi-grade tuna, thinly sliced
    • 2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
    • 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
    • 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
    • 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
    • Anchovy Aioli (see recipe below)
    • Baby cilantro or sprouts, for garnish
    • For the anchovy Aioli:
    • 2 egg yolks
    • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    • 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
    • 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
    • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
    • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • For the tuna pizza:
    • Start a barbecue grill or set a cast-iron grill pan over medium heat. Brush each tortilla lightly on both sides with olive oil. Brush 2 tablespoons of the barbecued eel sauce over one side of each tortilla.
    • Grill, sauced side down, for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly browned grill marks appear. Rotate 90 degrees and grill for 1 to 2 minutes, until crisscross marks appear and the tortillas are fairly crisp. Turn the tortillas over and grill until the second side is crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool.
    • Arrange tuna slices over the tortillas. Scatter the jalapeño peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and olives over the tortilla. Drizzle the Anchovy Aioli decoratively over the pizza. Garnish with cilantro or sprouts.
    • For the anchovy Aioli:
    • In a food processor, combine the egg yolks, vinegar, lemon juice, anchovy paste, and soy sauce. Blend well. With the machine on, very slowly add the olive oil and vegetable oil in a slow, thin stream, processing until the mayonnaise is emulsified and thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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  • http://twitter.com/mykitchenandI Renee

    What time is dinner? I’ll be right over. 😀

  • http://vanillasugarblog.com vanillasugarblog

    zen man! now that is one fancy schmancy pizza. i’ll take 2, it’s buy one get one right?  😉 

  • Claudia Riley

    More like a Japanese tostada, but anyway you slice it, sounds pretty good.

  • Anonymous

    Yes, but the first one cost $75. :)

  • Anonymous

    [chew] [burp].. Oops! 

  • Anonymous

    Yes, tostada would work too. Either way. 

  • http://twitter.com/mykitchenandI Renee

    lol you ate it without me? Well then, you’ll just have to make another! 😀

    Thanks for your comment on my blog!btw, I am ADDICTED to sushi. No way I could resist this pizza.

  • http://www.kitchenriffs.com kitchenriffs

    Nice flavors!  I never actually knew there was anchovy aioli – but now that I do, I have to make it!  Might be fun in deviled eggs.  Gorgeous looking pizza – and I bet its flavor was equally gorgeous.  Thanks for a great post.

  • http://noteetc.blogspot.com/ Note etc.

    first time I saw your morimoto tuna pizza pic on my foodbuzz notification I though you made graphic or grab pizza cartoon pic somewhere. but looks like Im total wrong, this is the most colourful, pretty and cool pizza I ever seen!

    cheers

  • http://twitter.com/RosasYummyYums Rosa May

    What an intriguing pizza! It looks so beautiful and tempting.

    Cheers,

    rosa

  • Tasteslikehome

    This is very high food artistry! Gosh you are darn good!

  • Anonymous

    I love the tuna pizza at Morimoto! This looks like quite the endeavor to make it when I pass by the place a few times a week…maybe when I’m feeling ambitious!

  • http://www.ouichefnetwork.com Oui, Chef

    Oohhh…gotta go get me some eel sauce, and here I am trying to RID my fridge of condiments.  Sriracha will get the nod when I make this luscious thing.

  • http://www.foodgal.com Carolyn Jung

    Yum! I’ve still yet to try the real deal at Morimoto’s. But this is the next best thing. 😉

  • Stacey Snacks

    So what night is the pizza party?   We are free!

  • Anonymous

    Thanks! Calling it “aioli” is a bit of a stretch here since there’s no garlic in it but it’s delicious nonetheless. 

  • Anonymous

    haha.. I wish I could draw cartoon like that. Thank you!

  • Anonymous

    Oh, no. Very simple food. Really. 

  • Anonymous

    It’s simpler than it looks. When you have all the ingredients ready it only takes 10 minutes to assemble. 

  • Anonymous

    Wait, aren’t you the one with the pizza oven in the backyard? :) 

  • Anonymous

    Cheaper too. :) 

  • Anonymous

    I see, I see.. one more condiment bottle in your collection in your near future. :) 

  • Anonymous

    Thank you, Rosa.

  • Anonymous

    [re-chew] [re-burp].. re-Oops! haha

  • http://mjskitchen.com Mjskit

    The eel sauce may be genius but I think the entire pizza is genius! Sounds fabulous and, what a beautiful presentation!

  • http://www.cucina49.blogspot.com Cucina49

    Your photo is so beautiful that it almost looks more like an illustration than a photograph.  Spectacular!  And anchovy aioli?  Be still my heart.

  • foodmakesmehappy

    Oh my god,
    Look at those colors!! Amazing!

  • http://twitter.com/eatdrinklove Amy

    I would so hire you to cook for me if you worked in the Chicagoland area…Or cook with you.  Either way…You get the point 😉  Your food is always amazing….And I bet it tastes amazing too.  : P

  • http://www.katherinemartinelli.com Katherine Martinelli

    This is absolutely stunning, as usual!  I love that it is a fancy tortilla pizza. And the combo of ingredients sounds to die for. My absolute favorite quote, maybe on a blog ever: ” You don’t like anchovies? No problem. Use sriracha instead. You don’t like sriracha? Stick to Domino Pizza. ” Amen.

  • Anonymous

    Thank you, Amy! :) 

  • Anonymous

    haha.. I probably offended a few people with that quote. Oh well. 

  • Anonymous

    It really works. Thank you, MJ!

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for the compliment!

  • Joy Zhang

    You are so fancy!! Lovin this pizza and how you meticulously laid out the salmon perfectly around the edges — I guess that’s why you get paid to cook :) 

  • http://pickyin.blogspot.com Chang Pick Yin

    Echoing Katherine – ” You don’t like anchovies? No problem. Use sriracha instead. You don’t like sriracha? Stick to Domino Pizza.” This is why you rock Zenman!

  • Anonymous

    Thank you! :) 

  • Anonymous

    Do I get paid? Oh yea, I do! :) 

  • Javelin Warrior

    This is AMAZING! I hope you don’t mind but I’m so inspired I’ve included this post in my Friday Food Fetish roundup. Thanks for sharing and MOAR please :)

  • MARK

    How is it I never thought of anchovy aioli? Pizza looks great, but just give me a spoon!

  • shirley@kokken69

    Hey,this came in time! I can serve this at my Christmas Party!  Of course, you would be invited if you are in Singapore :p…