Bachelor Chow Weekend: Chimney-Seared Tuna

Sue’s gone for the weekend, so expect several bachelor chow posts, starting with last night’s dinner.  Saku (yellowfin) tuna was available at the newly-opened Fresh Thyme market at a decent price.

So how to prepare it? Seared tuna is somewhat passe, but the only other method that sounded interesting would be oil-poached, and I thought I should keep at least one meal this weekend light.

OK, grill it. I remembered at that point that I was out of propane. Then, an epiphany: Alton Brown’s “chimney” method. Supposedly, fifteen to thirty seconds on a side would produce a perfect sear. I found it burnt the outside, the sesame seed crust pulled off, and it was really pretty darn close to raw throughout. I also forgot to keep part of the marinade separate as a dipping sauce… but I also made some oyster-sauced asparagus and mushrooms, so a sauce wasn’t needed. Delicious, but I need some fine tuning on the methods.  Wipe away the marinade?  More charcoal?

Recipe: Chimney-Seared Tuna with Oyster-Sauce Veg

Serves 1, plus extra tuna for lunch

Marinade and Tuna
2 Tbs (30ml) soy sauce
2 Tbs (30ml) honey
1 Tbs (15ml) yuzu-kushu (an addition Alton didn’t have)
1 Tbs (15ml) wasabi powder
.7 lbs (320g) tuna steak
3 tbs (45ml) sesame seeds

1. Combine soy, honey, yuzu-kushu and wasabi. Keep half for a dipping sauce, and smear the rest over the tuna steak
   
2. Marinade for an hour or more
3. Press the marinade-covered tuna steak into a layer of sesame seeds on waxed paper
    
4. Load a charcoal chimney starter (hardwood charcoal, please), and light newspaper underneath.  Allow about 15 minutes to be fully fired up
   
5. Grill the tuna 30 seconds on each side
   
6. Wrap in foil and allow to rest for several minutes, while you prepare the veg. Allow stuck marinade and seeds to burn off
   

Vegetables

A bunch of asparagus, trimmed
Two large white mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs (15ml) oil
2 tsp (10ml) fresh ginger, minced
2 tbs (30ml) oyster sauce
Splash of mirin

1. Have your mise en place ready before grilling the tuna
   
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet on medium
3. Saute the ginger, mushroom and asparagus together until it starts turning bright green, about a minute and a half.
   
4. Add the mirin and oyster sauce, stir, and cover for another minute or two, until the asparagus is crisp-tender
5. Serve with the sliced tuna
   

Now that I had a hot bucket of coals, why waste it?  Preview of Bachelor Chow Day 2