Seared Sesame Tuna

One fun thing about food is that whenever I look at a recipe in my collection, it immediately brings back memories about where I was when I got the recipe, who we were with and why did I enjoy it so much. What prompted me to ask for the recipe or at least tried to copy the dish when I got home ?

 In the case of this seared sesame tuna recipe, my wife and I were in Savannah celebrating our anniversary.  Our kids had given us a weekend at a wonderful new hotel there called Mansion on Forsyth Park.  Our gift package also included a cooking class for me and a spa visit for my wife. The cooking school was called 700 Kitchen and the instructor was Chef Darin Sehner.  He prepared this tuna, sliced it thinly and served it on a cucumber slice with wasabi mayo, as an appetizer.  I liked the tuna so much that I decided to alter the recipe to larger portions and served it as a main course, although I still do the appetizer version as well. 

Ingredients:(serves 4)

2 10-12 Oz. Fresh Ahi Tuna steaks approximately 1" thick
1 cup soy sauce
1 TBSP minced garlic
White sesame seeds
Black sesame seeds
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 TBSP canola oil

Preparation:

Cut each tuna steak into strips that are roughly an inch across, so that you have "logs" of tuna that are about 1"x1" and the full length of each steak. You should get 3-4 "logs" out of each steak.  Place the tuna in a self sealing plastic bag with the soy sauce and the minced garlic.  Press air out of bag, seal and refrigerate for thirty minutes. 

Combine sesame seeds in a small plate and mix together.  Remove tuna from marinade and pat dry.  Brush all sides of the tuna "logs" with sesame oil and place one piece at a time in the dish of sesame seeds.  Turn tuna until it is coated on all sides with the mixed sesame seeds.  Set aside and repeat with each piece of tuna. 

Heat a sauté pan until hot.  Add the canola oil to the pan. When oil is hot, sear the tuna on all sides, just until outer layer is seared and colored. This will only take 30 seconds to a minute on each side.  Do not overcook.  This dish should be served rare. 

I like to serve with rice or mashed potatoes and a mixed green salad.

If you wish to serve as an appetizer, allow tuna to cool.  Slice tuna into thin slices across the grain.  Top a cucumber slice with wasabi mayo. ( You can buy it in most supermarkets, or make your own by stirring a little wasabi paste into mayo, and adding a touch of lime zest. )  Lay a slice of tuna on top of the mayo/cucumber slice. 

You can use this same method to prepare salmon and make a wonderful appetizer tray with a mixture of the cucumber planks topped with both salmon and tuna.