While remembering a great sesame tuna dish from a Japanese restaurant in NY, I became inspired to try it myself, in the comfort of my own kitchen...
With a bit of googling and personal insight i managed to creatively turn available ingredients into the image above.
Which comprises (for two)
4-500g of fresh tuna, a nice 2-3cm thick cut is essential
A bag of mixed salad
A bag of rucola if mixed salad doesn't have it (loads of rucola are preferred)
sesame seeds to cover the steak
for the tuna marinade:
a bit of shredded ginger
wasabi powder
soy sauce
a bit of chilli
lime/lemon juice
salt
pepper
for the salad dressing:
shredded horseradish
apple vinegar
olive oil
mustard
oregano
tarragon
And for the 'european' side dish:
some french fries cooked in palm oil (much tastier)
but you can keep it traditional and use some rice
First, wash the piece of tuna and pat it dry.
Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl and then pour the sauce on a plate.
Pour the sesame seeds on a different plate.
Soak the tuna steak in the marinade and then cover it in sesame seeds by passing it through the sesame plate.
Let the tuna rest for about 30 mins at room temperature.
In the meantime, mix the salad dressing ingredients and pour them over the chopped salad (I like it with lots of rucola, it makes it gives it more punch!). Squeeze some lemon/lime juice over it and mix...
When the tuna is well rested and brought to room temperature, prepare a grill (i use a grill pan) and crank up the stove/fire to the hottest setting. Don't forget to oil the pan/grill a bit in advance so the fish won't stick.
You'll want the tuna to get a nice crust of baked sesame without cooking the inside.
When the pan/grill is sizzling, drop the tuna and grill it for about 2 mins on each side.
Whatever you do, Don't cook it more than 5 mins!!! Tuna meat quickly becomes overdone and tough.
Take if off and slice thin like in the picture above.
Serve it on a bed of salad, accompanied by the fries or whatever you prefer :)
It's reaaaaally yummy!
