I love seared tuna. You have to love it as well as it is essentially raw sashimi grade tuna, and you must buy only sashimi grade tuna. I prefer yellow fin tuna because of it’s light color, but just a good grade of tuna will be perfect. This is a restaurant quality dish that can be easily prepared in advance of serving.
Tip : If you are planning to serve this dish as an appetizer, you can prepare serving sized portions of the salad in individual ramekins and refrigerate until ready to serve. This is also true for the tuna as it can be prepared and then sliced into even and uniform slices ready to garnish the salad.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb sushi grade tuna trimmed to make a block shape
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp canola oil for searing tuna
- 1/2 cup Kikkoman Ponzu sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1 tsp water
Filling
- 1/2 cup avocado salad or rice pilaf/person
Garnish
- fresh pea sprouts
- 1/3 cup wonton noodles/person
Instructions
Gather all ingredients before starting recipe.
- Trim 1/2 lb sushi grade tuna to resemble a rectangular block. Save and freeze cutoff pieces for Tuna Tartar.
- Season tuna with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix 1 tbsp black sesame seeds and 1 tbsp white sesame seeds together.
- Roll tuna in sesame seeds, leaving the small end bare.
- Heat 1/2 tbsp canola oil in a small skillet over high heat for 1-2 minutes, or until the skillet is smoking.
- Add tuna on one seed encrusted side and sear until an 1/8" thick white band appears on the side being seared. Check after 30 seconds, then turn the tuna to the next side and sear each side until all sides have formed a white rim. Do not sear the ends. Note that searing the tuna literally takes seconds, so stay close and keep checking the uncoated side!
- Remove tuna from pan and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. The tuna must be served cold all the way through.
Ponzu Sauce
- Mix 1 tsp corn starch with 1 tsp water and make a slurry.
- Combine slurry with 1/2 cup Kikkoman Ponzu sauce and 1 tsp sugar in a microwave proof dish and heat on high for 30 seconds. Stir and heat for another 30 seconds or until the sauce has slightly thickened.
Serving
- Slice tuna into 1/8" thick slices.
- Place a portion of 1/2 cup avocado salad or rice pilaf/person in a 3" ring mold in the center of a serving plate. The salad should have the same height as the seared tuna slices. Remove ring mold.
- Stand the seared tuna against the salad, forming a ring around the salad.
- Top the salad with a few pea sprouts and 1/3 cup wonton noodles/person.
- Pour ponzu sauce around the tuna and serve.
You will lose a little when trimming the tuna for searing. I suggest freezing these cut off pieces and using them to prepare a tuna tartare using my recipe for Wasabi Salmon Tartare. Absolutely delicious!
