Seared Tuna Recipes

ASIAN SEARED TUNA

Steps:

• Slice off and discard the veiny stub of meat from the tuna, then slice into rough 3cm chunks. Place the sesame seeds onto a tray, then add the tuna chunks, turning them over in the seeds so they're nicely coated.
• Heat a good drizzle of olive and sesame oil in a medium frying pan over a medium heat. Peel and thinly slice the garlic, then add most of it to the pan. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden and crisp, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate (don't drain away the oil!).
• Return the pan to the heat and allow to heat up again, then add the sesame-coated tuna to the garlicky oil. Sear on one side for 10 to 20 seconds. Using tongs, turn the tuna over and keep cooking until you've seared only four sides of each chunk. Transfer to a plate.
• Peel and finely grate the ginger, then add to a bowl with the soy, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and the remaining sliced garlic. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, then mix well to combine. Have a taste and add a squeeze more lemon juice, if needed.
• Cut the seared tuna into slices, roughly 1cm thick, then arrange on your plates. Drizzle over the Asian dressing, scatter the garlic chips on top and tear over the coriander leaves. Trim and finely slice the spring onion and chilli at an angle, scatter on top, then finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

SEARED AHI TUNA STEAKS

Steps:

• Season the tuna steaks with salt and cayenne pepper.
• Melt the butter with the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the peppercorns in the mixture until they soften and pop, about 5 minutes. Gently place the seasoned tuna in the skillet and cook to desired doneness, 1 1/2 minutes per side for rare.

SEARED TUNA STEAK

Steps:

• Smash up the chilli and the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar.
• Peel and chop the garlic, pick and finely chop the herb leaves and add it all to the pestle and mortar with a drizzle of oil and lemon juice, to taste. Mix together, and season with sea salt and black pepper.
• Lay out your tuna steaks on a tray, season both sides and rub all over with the herb mixture.
• There are two nice ways to cook it: I prefer to cook it on a griddle pan or in a frying pan.
• Your pan should be very, very hot. Put in the tuna and what you want to do is sear it so that it toasts, fries and browns (about 45 to 60 seconds on each side).
• Once cooked, I like to rip the steaks in half and serve with salad and chips or boiled potatoes and a big wedge of lemon. It's quite sexy sometimes with some marinated sun-dried tomatoes, olives, basil... The possibilities are endless.

PAN-SEARED TUNA WITH AVOCADO, SOY, GINGER, AND LIME

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, combine the cilantro, jalapeno, ginger, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir the ingredients together until well incorporated.
• Place a skillet over medium-high heat and coat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the tuna generously with salt and pepper. Lay the tuna in the hot oil and sear for 1 minute on each side to form a slight crust. Pour 1/2 of the cilantro mixture into the pan to coat the fish. Serve the seared tuna with the sliced avocado and the remaining cilantro sauce drizzled over the whole plate.

MARINATED SEARED TUNA

Steps:

• In a flat, shallow dish, combine the soy, rice vinegar, sambal, white and light green scallions, garlic and ginger. Add the tuna and roll around to get the marinade on all sides. Cover and let sit in the fridge for up to 2 hours, turning the tuna periodically.
• Remove the tuna from the fridge and let sit in the marinade outside of the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes.
• When the tuna has come to room temperature, remove it from the marinade. With a paper towel, gently remove some of the excess marinade.
• Coat a large saute pan with peanut oil and bring it to a VERY high heat. When the pan is VERY hot but not quite smoking, pull the pan off the heat and add the tuna to the pan. Return the pan to the heat and sear the tuna for 1 minute on each side.
• Remove the tuna from the pan, let rest for 4 to 5 minutes and slice into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices. Sprinkle with the dark green sliced scallion tops.
• Serve immediately with a little extra soy on the side if desired.

SESAME SEARED TUNA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, mirin, honey and sesame oil. Divide into two equal parts. Stir the rice vinegar into one part and set aside as a dipping sauce.
• Spread the sesame seeds out on a plate. Coat the tuna steaks with the remaining soy sauce mixture, then press into the sesame seeds to coat.
• Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot. Place steaks in the pan, and sear for about 30 seconds on each side. Serve with the dipping sauce and wasabi paste.

SEARED TUNA PEPPER STEAKS

Steps:

• Sprinkle tuna steaks on both sides with salt, then sprinkle with coarsely cracked black pepper, pressing gently to adhere. Heat sesame oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add tuna steaks and sear until brown outside and just opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer tuna steaks to platter. Tent platter loosely with foil to keep tuna steaks warm. Add soy sauce, then Sherry to same skillet. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is slightly reduced, scraping up any browned bits, about 1 minute. Spoon sauce over tuna steaks. Sprinkle with chives or green onion tops.

PEPPER SEARED TUNA STEAKS

Steps:

• Combine black pepper and sesame seeds in bowl.
• Press tuna steaks into mixture, until coated.
• Heat sesame oil over medium-high heat.
• Add tuna steaks and sear about 1- 1 1/2 minutes each side (I like mine rare in the center, longer if you prefer well-cooked tuna).
• Transfer steaks to tented aluminum foil to keep warm.
• Add a touch more oil to pan, then add soy sauce and sherry.
• Add garlic and most of green onion (reserving some of the tops).
• If too much has boiled off, add a bit of red wine if necessary.
• Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is slightly reduced, scraping up any brown bits, about 1 minute.
• Spoon sauce over tuna steaks, and sprinkle remaining green onion on top.
• Note: if you want to make more of this sauce, it tastes fantastic, and goes great with rices, potatoes, roasted veggies, etc.
• In the photo, I cross-cut Italian bread, drizzled with olive oil and briefly toasted.

SEARED SESAME-CRUSTED TUNA

Steps:

• In a shallow dish, combine the two types of sesame seeds and stir to mix.
• Season the tuna with salt and pepper and dredge in the sesame seeds, coating the tuna evenly.
• In a non stick pan, warm the oil until smoking, arrange the tuna in the pan (making sure not to overcrowd) and cook until the white sesame seeds start to turn golden underneath (around 1 minute).
• Carefully turn the tuna over and cook for about another minute.
• Transfer the tuna to a cutting board and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices.
• Serve immediately.

SEARED TUNA IN BLACK PEPPER CRUST

Steps:

• Beat the lime juice, marjoram and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil together. Set aside.
• Trim any dark areas from the tuna, then cut it into four equal pieces, trimming them a little if necessary to make four rectangular logs. Press the cracked black pepper over the outside of the pieces of fish.
• Heat all but a teaspoon of the remaining olive oil plus the canola oil in a large, heavy skillet. When the oil is very hot, carefully place the fish in the skillet (to avoid splattering) and sear each piece for barely a minute, then turn and continue to sear the fish pieces briefly on each of the remaining three sides. Remove the fish to a warm plate. The fish should be rare in the middle.
• Wipe out the skillet and add the remaining olive oil. Add the spinach and saute it for a few minutes, until the spinach is barely wilted. Add the beans, season with salt and pepper and continue to saute until the spinach is wilted but is still a bright green and the beans are completely heated through.
• Divide the spinach mixture equally among four dinner plates. Cut the blocks of seared tuna into slices one-half-inch thick and array the slices on top of the spinach. Briefly beat the vinaigrette, then drizzle the vinaigrette around the tuna and the spinach. The plates are now ready to be served.