Seared Tuna

Ingredients

Seared Tuna with Sesame Seeds

Source: Inspired from a local restaurant, with the how-to and side dish ideas taken from Use Real Butter

Soy sauce, sesame oil

2 6-8 oz fresh tuna steaks

Black sesame seeds

White sesame seeds

Kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

Procedure

Marinate the tuna in a little soy sauce and you can add some sesame oil too. To spice it up try a little Thai garlic pepper sauce too. You only need to do this for about 15-20 minutes before cooking.

1. Mix an equal portion of black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds in a shallow bowl with a generous bit of salt. Coat the tuna steaks in the mixture, adding more sesame seeds and salt to the bowl if necessary.

2. Heat some oil in saute pan, enough to generously coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the tuna steaks using kitchen tongs.

3. Sear for 45 seconds on each side. Using kitchen tongs, sear all of the shorter sides/ends of the steaks for 5-10 seconds each.

4. Slice and serve.

Special Notes

Adding sesame oil is a nice touch.

Recipe modified from: http://ourlifeinfood.com/2010/05/04/seared-tuna-with-sesame-seeds

Alternative Recipe - - more detail

Pan-seared Sesame-crusted Tuna

inspired by Alley House

4 tuna steaks (~6 oz. per person), ahi tuna or maguro (sashimi)

1/4 cup black sesame seeds

1/4 cup white sesame seeds

1 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsps unflavored oil (vegetable or canola)

2 ripe avocados, sliced thin

salad greens

wasabi mayonnaise

anago sauce

masago or tobiko (smelt fish roe)

wasabi mayonnaise

2 tbsps wasabi powder

2 tbsps water

1/2 cup mayonnaise

anago sauce

6 tbsps soy sauce

4 tbsps mirin

2 tbsps brown sugar (or caramelized sugar syrup)

dash of rice wine vinegar

Wasabi mayonnaise: Mix the wasabi powder with the water until it forms a uniform paste. Mix with the mayonnaise. It tastes better if you let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour or so before serving.

Anago sauce: Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to boil. Let boil for a minute or so and reduce to simmer until slightly thickened. Let cool (it will thicken some more, so don’t boil it down too much).

Combine the sesame seeds, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Completely coat the tuna steaks in the mixture, pressing seeds and seasonings into the flesh. Heat the oil in a large, shallow frying pan over high heat. When the oil is hot (chuck a sesame seed in and it should sizzle – just take care if the darn thing jumps and hits you!) set one or two steaks into the pan. Take care not to crowd the steaks. More than two at a time will make it hard to sear the sides without overcooking the other pieces. Sear for less than a minute on the flat sides (unless you want it more cooked) and while gently holding the steaks with tongs, sear for about 20 seconds (or more if you prefer) on the short sides. Remove to a cutting board and slice the steaks into 1/2-inch thick pieces at an angle – or leave whole if you prefer. Set avocado slices on a bed of salad green and then fan the tuna on top. Drizzle with wasabi mayonnaise and anago sauce over the fish or serve on the side. Top with a sprinkle of masago. Serves 4.