Now that I am an official housemaker, shopping is one of my occupational duties. Once a week, I would revel in strolling down the aisles and carting all the sale goodies at the supermarket. This week, I saw ahi tuna on sale ($6.99/lb at Stop-and-Shop). Despite all the negative press this darn fish has associated with mercury levels, I still could not help myself but to drool on the thought of ahi. So I bought one fat steak that weighed about a pound, enough for me and my husband to share. When choosing tuna, I look for pieces with a nice deep hue of red (with fish if it doesn’t look good, it probably won’t taste good either).
So here’s the deal with ahi tuna. You don’t want to overcook; it’s okay to eat it rare. The outside needs to be seared (apparently all the dirty bacteria is on the outside of the fish and by searing would kill it). Before I started to cook it, I decided to marinade it first. I wanted to use Japanese inspired ingredients, but not teriyaki sauce (which is a little too heavy and sweet for my taste). So I threw it into a plastic bag with sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, lime juice, sugar, garlic powder, and peppercorns. Then I whooshed it around and let it sit in the bag and returned it to the refrigerator until I was ready to cook it. The longer it sits in the marinade, the more flavorful it is. But keep it in the fridge otherwise bacteria might start to grow on it if you leave it out for a long period of time.
When you are ready to cook it, take it out and wait a few minutes till it warms to room temperature. Heat a skillet on high and coat it with oil once it heats up (I use canola because it is healthier and can withstand high heat). Then carefully place the tuna into the skillet and leave it there for 3 minutes. It should have a nice brown char to it. Then flip it onto the other side and repeat. Once it is ready, turn off the stove and remove the tuna from the pan. The outside should be completely done. If you slice through the middle however, it should still be pink. That is when your ahi tuna is done.
Here’s the exact recipe for your all you sticklers out there:
Soy Sesame Lime Ahi Tuna
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp ginger (zest from fresh ginger)
- ground peppercorns
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- chopped green onions and cilantro (for garnish)
1. Put tuna in a ziplock bag along with soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, lime juice, ginger, and peppercorns. Shake the bag till ingredients are mixed. Return bag to refrigerator and let tuna sit for at least half an hour before cooking.
2. Afterwards, heat up skillet on high and add oil. When oil heats up, place tuna steak carefully into skillet. Wait about 3 minutes till the bottom is seared.
3. Flip the tuna over and sear the other side for 3 minutes.
4. Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro.