Although these canapes are bite-size, the crunchy cucumber, satiny tuna, and bursting tobiko provide a mouthful of contrasting textures and flavors to get your appetite going. By carving the cucumbers with a knife, instead of scooping out the centers, it not only makes for a more attractive vessel, it also makes the walls of the cucumber cup thinner giving you a better ratio of tuna to cucumber. Although the cucumbers can be carved in advance and the spicy tuna can be mixed ahead, wait until just before you serve them to fill the cups as the salt in the tuna mixture will make the cucumbers leach water if assembled too early.

Makes 21 cups
prep time: 25 minutes
cook time: N/A
passive time: N/A

Ingredient:
330 grams japanese or lebanese cucumber
150 grams yellowfin tuna
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon tobiko
2 teaspoons sriracha
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pasteurized egg yolk

Directions:
1. Cut the cucumber into 1-inch lengths, discarding the ends

2. Stand the cucumber pieces on end and then slice off a sliver on one side of the cucumber starting from the middle all the way down to the bottom. Turn the cucumber 90 degrees and repeat 3 times until the bottom of the cucumber makes a square.

3. Starting at the top of the cucumber,right where the skin meets the flesh, slice a petal leaving about 1/4" attached at the bottom. Turn the cucumber 90 degrees and repeat 3 more times.

4. Now you need to remove the big core of cucumber. To do this, peel one of the petals back and insert the knife, cutting the core in half without cutting into the petals, or cutting a hole in the bottom of the cup. Then if you give the knife a little twist one side of the core should break loose. Now just remove the other half and you should have a mini cucumber vase.

5. Repeat with the rest of the cucumber pieces, placing them in a bowl of water as you finish them.

6. Finely chop the tuna and then place it in a bowl along with the chives, tobiko, sriracha, sesame oil, salt and egg yolk. Mix to combine.

7. Drain the cucumber cups and dry with paper towels.

8. Fill the cucumber cups with spicy tuna and garnish with extra tobiko. Serve immediately.