Tag Archives: tuna steaks

September 22, 2022 · 8:09 am

Seared Thai Basil Tuna Steaks

We have an abundance of Thai basil growing in planters in our back yard. Due to a plethora of rabbits, we have been unsuccessful at growing vegetables, so I have switched to herbs and flowers. Unfortunately, I may need to switch to all herbs next year…

But at least my Thai Basil is going strong, and is not a preferred bunny snack.

I love seared tuna steaks, because they are quick and easy to cook, and if not overcooked, are tender and delicious, without tasting “fishy”. A screaming hot cast iron skillet is the best way to cook them, searing for no more that 1 minute on each side. After searing, I add a small amount of the sauce into the skillet and cook for 15 seconds on each side to give a nice glaze to the fish.

Serve immediately, sliced across the grain, with additional sauce for dipping.

RECIPE: Continue reading →

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Tagged as 30 minute dinner, Asian, cast iron skillet, entree, fish, keto, main dish, quick and easy, recipe, Thai, Thai basil, tuna steaks

April 11, 2019 · 7:43 am

Sesame Crusted Tuna Steaks

Fresh tuna steaks are a fast and delicious dinner that even fish-haters around here approve of. Fresh tuna steaks are coated in sesame seeds, quickly seared, and served with a spicy Asian dipping sauce. Tuna steaks are best served rare, so be sure you have all of your sides ready before starting to cook the fish.

The main ingredients in the dipping sauce are soy sauce, lime juice, and chili paste. The strong flavors pair well with the mild fish. You can adjust the spice level to the taste of your family.

Preparing the tuna steaks is super simple. Mix together some white and black toasted sesame seeds, and generously coat all sides of the tuna steaks. Cook for 2 minutes in a hot cast iron skillet, and you are done. Be sure and serve immediately, so that the tuna steaks don’t dry out.

The best place to buy sesame seeds is an Asian market. You can buy large bags of white or black seeds relatively inexpensively.

In addition to the dipping sauce, I served the tuna steaks with a Thai Cucumber Salad and Green Chili Cilantro Rice.

Recipes:

Sesame Crusted Tuna Steaks

Servings: 4
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4 fresh ahi tuna steaks, about 1” thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup each black and white toasted sesame seeds
4 Tbs oil

Dipping Sauce:
¼ cup soy sauce
1 lime, juiced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs sesame oil
10 drops liquid stevia (or 1 Tbs brown sugar)
2 tsp ground chili paste (adjust to taste)
2 Tbs chopped cilantro

Prepare dipping sauce: Stir together all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Pat tuna steaks dry. Season both sides of the tuna steaks with salt and pepper. Place sesame seeds in a wide bowl and dip tuna steaks in seeds, pressing seeds onto all sides of the tuna steaks.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet until very hot. Add tuna steaks to hot pan. Do not crowd pan; cook in batches if necessary. Cook for 1 minute on each side. (Adjust cooking time if steaks are thicker, or if you want them cooked more than rare). Remove to serving platter. Cut tuna steaks diagonally into slices and serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Thai Cucumber Salad

Servings: 6-8
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4-6 small pickling cucumbers, sliced
½ of a small red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup rice vinegar, unsweetened
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs sesame oil
10 drops liquid stevia (or 1 Tbs sugar)
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
¼ tsp dried crushed red pepper flakes

Mix sliced cucumbers, onion and cilantro in a bowl. Stir together remaining ingredients. Pour over cucumbers.

Green Chili Cilantro Rice

Servings: 6
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Green Chili Cilantro Rice

1 can (1 ¾ cup) chicken broth
1 can (4 oz) diced mild green chilies, undrained
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
½ tsp salt
1 cup Basmati rice (or other long grain variety rice)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine broth, green chilies, garlic, olive oil, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice, cover, and simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes, or until rice is cooked. Stir in chopped cilantro.

This can also be cooked in a rice cooker: combine all ingredients except cilantro in rice cooker and cook according to directions; stir in cilantro.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as cast iron skillet, entree, keto, low carb, main dish, quick and easy, quick meals, recipe, seafood, sesame seeds, tuna, tuna steaks

November 20, 2009 · 8:05 am

Spicy Pan-Seared Tuna Steaks

These can actually be as spicy or not-so-spicy as your family likes. Fresh tuna steaks are marinated in a flavorful soy sauce based sauce and then quickly seared just before serving. Super easy. Super fast. Super delicious. Plus NO prep bowls to clean! Just one pan to clean and one Ziploc bag to throw away.

The marinade includes lime and soy sauce, ginger and garlic, chili paste (which can be adjusted to taste), and cilantro. Tuna is a drier fish, so the marinade also contains quite a lot of oil, but the marinade is drained off before cooking, so you don’t actually eat all of that oil. But it will keep your fish nice and moist. Tuna is best eaten on the rare side. It is so much more tender and flavorful that way. Nothing at all like dry tuna out of a can.

Marinate your fish in a Ziploc bag or shallow dish at room temperature for 30-40 minutes before you plan on eating (or prepare it earlier in the day and place in the refrigerator. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before you plan on cooking it).

This cooks very fast-only about 5 minutes total, so have your side dishes ready before you begin searing.

To cook, heat a skillet over medium-high to high heat. Don’t add any oil; the marinade has plenty of that! Remove fish from marinade, draining off as much of the marinade as possible.

Add tuna steaks to the hot pan and cook 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second side.

You can cover the pan to reduce splattering, if you like. Tuna will be cooked about ¼” through, and rare in middle. Increase cooking time if you want it cooked a little more, but don’t overcook; it will quickly become dry.

.RECIPE:

Spicy Pan-Seared Tuna Steaks

Servings: 4
Print

4 tuna steaks (about 1 ½” thick)
Zest & Juice from one lime (or lemon)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp minced gingerroot
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tsp sugar (or low-carb sweetener)
¼ cup toasted sesame oil
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp chili paste
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to 2 hours in refrigerator (remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking).

Heat pan on medium-high heat. Remove tuna from marinade. Add tuna steaks to pan and cook 3 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the 2^nd side (cover to reduce splattering). Tuna will be cooked about ¼” around, and rare in middle.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as seafood, seared tuna, soy sauce marinade, tuna, tuna steaks