Seared Ahi Tuna Steak with Japanese Tataki Sauce | Tuna Tataki

September 9, 2020Mrs. Lin's Kitchen
seared ahi tuna steak

If you are like me who loves sushi and sashimi, then you will like tuna tataki or seared tuna steak with tataki sauce. It has been super hot lately in the Bay Area. Therefore, eating a cold dish like seared ahi tuna steak sounds very enticing.

Tataki is Japanese cooking which takes raw meat or fish and sear in a pan to form a thin cooked layer of meat on the outside and raw still inside. In order to make tuna tataki, you will need to use sashimi-grade tuna preferably ahi or yellowfin. Then, you will sear the fish between 10 to 30 seconds. How long to sear the tuna will depend on its thickness.

After you sear the tuna and let it cool, you will drizzle citrus-based sauce, which tataki sauce, on the top and serve.

seared ahi tuna steak

Tuna tataki is usually served as a cold appetizer or you can serve it with rice. There are a wide variety of variations on how this dish is done and I hope you will give my version a try.

Ingredients

seared ahi tuna steak
  • 1/2 lb of sashimi grade tuna
  • 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • Roasted sesame seeds (white, black or both)

I usually get sashimi grade tuna from Japanese grocers like Nijiya, Mitsuwa or Marukai. Due to COVID, I have been getting IQF tuna which has a similar quality.

Tataki Sauce:

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free soy sauce or tamarin)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp of grated ginger
  • 1 tsp of thinly slice red onion/shallot

Seared Ahi Tuna Steak Recipe

View Print Layout
Print Recipe
Close Print

Seared Ahi Tuna Steak - Tuna Tataki

Seared ahi tuna steak coated in roasted sesame seeds and served with citrus-based sauce

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb sashimi-grade tuna
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • roasted sesame seeds, (white, black or both)

Tataki Sauce

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce, (gluten-free soy sauce or tamarin)
  • 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1 tsp very thinly sliced red onion/shallot

Method

Prepare Ingredients

  • 1)

    Coat tuna with roasted sesame seed on all sides. Try your best to fill in all the empty spot and make sure the tuna is fully coated

  • 2)

    Grate the ginger

  • 3)

    Slice the red onion or shallot as thin as possible

Mix Tataki Sauce

  • 1)

    In a clean bowl, add 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp of grated ginger, 1 tbsp of mirin, 1 tsp of thinly sliced red onion. Then mix everything together

Sear Tuna & Serve

  • 1)

    In a frying pan, add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, put the tuna in and sear each side for 30 seconds. Only sear all the side surfaces of the piece of tune. Leave the front and the backside

  • 2)

    Take the seared tuna out and let cool.

  • 3)

    Cut the tuna perpendicular to the side that is not seared. About ¼” thickness each piece

  • 4)

    To serve, drizzle tataki sauce on the seared tuna. And make sure you eat it when it’s freshly made.

Previous Recipe Next Recipe