Something that’s been stuck in my mind the last 24 hours: Last night, The Civee and I were watching The Office when Michael said he “had a dream where [he] ate a peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich.”
This has disturbed me all day.
Not the idea of a peanut butter and tuna fish sandwich. Sure, that’s got to be nasty. But not disturbing.
Rather, it was the use of the phrase “tuna fish.”
We don’t say we eat turkey fowl for Thanksgiving (not that I would). Nor do we grill steak meat during the summer time. So why do we say “tuna fish” when referring to that gray stuff that comes in a can?
I have a feeling I will now be fighting this crusade for the rest of my life.
By the way, fresh tuna is much better than anything that comes in a can. Case in point, this is one of the Civee’s favorite recipes (for someone who didn’t like fish before we got married):
Tuna Sticks in Pepper Sauce
- 1 tuna steak per person
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1 jar roasted red peppers
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of salt
Cut the tuna steak(s) lengthwise, turning each steak into 3-4 “sticks.”
Cover each side of each stick with the sesame seeds.
Place garlic, red peppers and salt into food processor. Blend until peppers form a sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and pulse to mix.
Heat a pan on high, adding the remaining olive oil. Cook the tuna sticks for a minute per side.
Remove sticks from pan, plate and cover with the red pepper sauce.
I think it makes sense to differentiate the tuna-in-a-can from a real piece of tuna steak. And since tuna-in-a-can is fairly disgusting, we might as well call it “tuna fish.” The tuna steak that I order at the Fish Market is certainly not “tuna fish.”
Levy- you’re right- there’s a huge difference. I think Mario Batali once said something along the lines of if you’re going to get a tuna steak and cook it for more than two minutes per side, might as well throw it out and get some of that crap in a can for 99 cents.
Words to live by.