SESAME CRUSTED AHI TUNA WITH GINGER SOY DIPPING SAUCE

To make the tuna marinade, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, and honey in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Place the tuna steaks or loins in a large zip lock bag and pour in the marinade.  Refrigerate for 1-3 hours.  Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to cook the tuna.

While the tuna marinates make the ginger soy dipping sauce by combining the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar, honey, scallions, ginger, and garlic in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Set aside.

When you are ready to cook the tuna, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat until almost smoking.

Place the sesame seeds in a pie plate or small baking dish and whisk to evenly combine. Remove the tuna from the marinade and let the excess drip off.  Firmly press the tuna into the sesame seeds to coat on all sides.  Note – if you are using the loin, there will be 4 distinct sides, but if you are using thinner tuna steaks, you only need to coat the top and bottom of the steaks.

Place the coated fish into the very hot pan.  Sear for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.  You only want to cook the outside of the tuna, creating a crust and leaving the center raw.  Place on a cutting board and slice into ¼” thick pieces with a very sharp knife.

Serve the tuna (warm or cold) with ginger soy dipping sauce and sriracha mayo.  I like to decorate the plate with the mayo first and place the tuna on top, garnished with scallions.