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
- Combine soy, honey, yuzu-kushu and wasabi. Keep half for a dipping sauce, and smear the rest over the tuna steak
- Marinade for an hour or more
- Press the marinade-covered tuna steak into a layer of sesame seeds on waxed paper
- Load a charcoal chimney starter (hardwood charcoal, please), and light newspaper underneath. Allow about 15 minutes to be fully fired up
- Grill the tuna 30 seconds on each side
- 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
- Have your mise en place ready before grilling the tuna
- Heat oil in a medium skillet on medium
- Saute the ginger, mushroom and asparagus together until it starts turning bright green, about a minute and a half.
- Add the mirin and oyster sauce, stir, and cover for another minute or two, until the asparagus is crisp-tender
- Serve with the sliced tuna
Now that I had a hot bucket of coals, why waste it? Preview of Bachelor Chow Day 2
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