Gerb's BEST tuna salad!

I'm not much for seafood.  It's healthy, yes, but I live in the most interior portion of the U.S.  There IS no natural water.  There ARE no fresh water fish (or even just fresh fish, for that matter).  So the only seafood I've ever known has been massacred by means of canning, freezing, mass producing in fish farms, frying, etc.

So when I accidentally made a good tuna salad this morning, I surprised myself.  Anyway, this is simple, inexpensive, and quite healthy.  Enough talk!

Goes great with matcha!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c short grain brown rice (can use any rice, really, I just like the texture the short brown gives to the salad)
• 1 can of tuna (5 oz; I used albacore because I can... get it??! CAN! )
• Some tidbits of flavor in the form of green onion (about two sprigs of the green parts), garlic (about 2 or 3 cloves, depending on your tastes), ginger (about 2 tsp, grated; hell, I went wild and shredded up a HUGE chunk and it was tasty), and finally, a few leaves of lemon basil if you have it (or some thai lemon grass, or possibly even some real lemon zest).
• Some sesame seed oil for toasting
• Some carrot for garnish
• A spoon of mayonnaise (I tried to avoid it, but the stuff was just so dry without it.  I suppose you could use yogurt if that's your thing)

Never said I was a good photographer.

1. Cook rice according to package.  (I cooked mine in the microwave in the rice cooker because I'm lazy.  Took 27 minutes total.)

2. When rice is still cooking, add sesame oil (about 1-2 tsp) to small sauce pan, and put at medium heat.  Add minced garlic, shredded ginger, and chopped green onion to oil for about 45 seconds until fragrant.  Just try not to let the garlic brown.  Stir or swirl it periodically during this process.

3. When seasoning are fragrant, add a smidge (like 1/8 c) of cool water to the sauce pan. Add drained tuna.  Continue to saute for a few moments.  Add a pinch of sea salt if desired.  Turn down temperature to low.

4. Add shredded or finely chopped lemon basil.

5. When rice is done, add it to tuna mixture, and stir.  Add mayo and stir again.

6. Stick your chopped carrot next to your salad.  It adds a nice fresh crunch.  Serve plain or on bread.