Thursday, November 10, 2005

TUNA STEAK SHOWDOWN

Being unemployed definitely has its benefits. In addition to not adding to the laundry pile because you can hang out in a bathrobe all day, it means that you can waste lots of time in the kitchen. Last night’s food episode revolved around tuna. Although I am not a fish lover, I did taste it and am pretty chuffed at the end result of this (and anyways, I still have a lot of wild rice to get through). The Boy gave this dish two very happy thumbs up.

The tuna only marinates for an hour or so; the result is that you can taste the different elements of the marinade in each bite. First, you taste the saltiness of the soy sauce, followed by the sweetness of the mirin and ending with the gentle hit of ginger. There is texture in this too. A slightly crunchy sesame seed coating on firm flakes of seared tuna gives way to a softer middle. It is a simple dish that served to guests will always look and taste much more complex that in really is. Simplicity is the key to this so I served it up with plain rice and sugar snap peas (mangetout or bok choy would work too).

The chunk of tuna I bought was for two so The Boy gets leftovers tonight. My idea (this morning at least) is to make some ramen (get your mind out of the gutter, not the 80 for $1 ones but the same kind of noodles in a light broth) with the last bit of tuna on top. Clean, simple and warming. Here is last night's dinner-

TUNA - ASIAN STYLE

Serves 2

Ingredients:

250g. Tuna steak cut in two
¼ c. Soy sauce
¼ c. Mirin
1 tsp. Sesame oil
Knob of ginger, finely grated
Two shakes of Nam Pla fish sauce (optional)
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 tbsp. Furiyake Japanese seasoning* (optional)

Mix the sesame seeds and Furiyake seasoning (if being used) and put to one side.

Mix the soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, ginger and nam pla (if being used) in a dish that is big enough to fit the tuna. Add the tuna and let marinate in the fridge for 30 – 60 minutes, turning over once halfway through.

When the marinating time is up, take the tuna out and place on a plate. Sprinkle the seed mix on all sides. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a dash of olive oil- just enough to lightly coat the pan. Once the pan is hot, add the tuna and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side (turn down the heat slightly if necessary). Two minutes will give you a medium rare fish; three minutes will be a more well done. Do not turn over the fish until the cooking time for each side is up.

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