This recipe was inspired by a grilled tuna steak that I ordered at a sleepy roadside restaurant in Vietnam. Working tableside on a small charcoal brazier, the young waiter cooked a half-inch-thick tuna steak with care and patience. Back in my home kitchen, I decided to adapt the recipe to the stove top. I find that pan searing allows greater control than grilling over the doneness of the lean, meaty steaks, yielding juicier results. There are no tricks here. The tuna steaks are coated with the same seasonings used for Grilled Shrimp and Squid (page 111), and the gingery dipping sauce offers a good contrast to the richness of the fish. Serve with Chicken Dumpling and Chrysanthemum Leaf Soup (page 61), boiled gailan (Chinese broccoli) or regular broccoli (which are both good with the dipping sauce), and rice.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 with 2 or 3 other dishes
Ingredients
Marinade
Preparation
Step 1
Pat the tuna steaks dry with paper towels. To make the marinade, in a bowl large enough to accommodate the tuna steaks, whisk together the sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and oil. Add the steaks and turn them to coat well. There’s no need to let the steaks marinate.
Step 2
Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. To test if it is ready, flick a drop of water into it. It should immediately dance and then evaporate. Add the tuna steaks and let them cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes. The tuna should brown nicely on the underside, perhaps even with some dark caramelized spots. Using tongs, carefully turn the steaks over. Without disturbing them, let them cook for about another 1 1/2 minutes for rare or 3 minutes for medium-rare.
Step 3
To check for doneness, nick the steaks with the tip of a paring knife. A rare steak should be opaque at the edges and translucent red and cool in the middle. A medium-rare steak should be opaque at the edges and reddish pink in the middle. For a medium steak, cook for medium-rare but let the steak rest for 5 minutes under a foil tent before cutting. The steak will continue to cook as it rests.
Step 4
Transfer the steaks to a cutting board. Cut each steak into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the slices on a platter and serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
