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Seared Tuna with Wasabi-Butter Sauce

SUBMITTED BY: DARLA C.      PHOTO BY: Caroline C

"I've had the seared tuna in nice restaurants, but this is better than all of them. One tablespoon of wasabi sounds like a lot of heat, but somehow this cooking method mellows it to almost nothing, just leaves the flavor. Really really great."
PREP TIME  5 Min
COOK TIME  35 Min
READY IN  40 Min
SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: 6 Servings
    
About  scaling  and  conversions

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 10 fluid ounces white wine
  • 1/4 cup minced shallots
  • 1 tablespoon wasabi paste, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • 6 (6 ounce) fresh tuna steaks, 1 inch thick

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine the white wine vinegar, white wine and shallots in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Strain out shallot and discard, return liquid to the pan.
  2. Stir the wasabi and soy sauce into the reduction in the pan. Over low heat, gradually whisk in butter one cube at a time allowing the mixture to emulsify. Be careful not to let the mixture boil. When all of the butter has been incorporated, stir in cilantro, and remove from heat. Pour into a small bowl, and set aside.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush tuna steaks with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place in the hot skillet, and sear for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Be careful not to overcook, this fish should be served still a little pink in the center. Serve with sauce.
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The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 0 star rating.
Reviewed on Apr. 28, 2004 by ABoston
This simple-to-make recipe is guaranteed to bring you compliments- I would give it many more stars if I could. This creamy sauce is worth every bit of exercise you might feel compelled to do-- count your calories elsewhere, and just enjoy this dish! Your tastebuds will thank you! My recommendations: 1) You must use a full-bodied, dry white wine, as the sauce's end result relies on that. I recommend Mersault. 2) You should dedicate 20 minutes to making the sauce. The white wine, vinegar, shallot mixture should take at least that long to reduce, as it should gently boil over medium-high heat. Don't let it boil rapidly, but don't let it just simmer either. 3) Use about half the butter called for, or use all of the butter and let the sauce reduce. Experience has taught me that this sauce is always better when it is thicker and richer. If the recommended amount of butter is used, the result is a thin, mild sauce. By reducing the butter, you'll create a denser, creamier sauce that seems more appropriate for a thick tuna steak. 4) If you take my recommendation for cutting back on the butter, realize that this will reduce the amount of sauce you make to about 3-4 adult portions. 5) Lastly, I recommend serving this with orzo, freshly sliced tomatoes, and deep fried spinach (found on allrecipes.com). The colors, textures, and flavors blend very well.

10 users found this review helpful
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 0 star rating.
Reviewed on Jul. 21, 2007 by DakotahGirl
What you want here is the sauce, as it's more delectably remarkable and delicious beyond any I have EVER encountered!! Use yellowfin or ahi/sushi grade tuna, thickly sliced. If you don't marinate it, at least cover it with olive oil then coat generously with black/white sesame seeds which have been combined with chopped fresh herbs such as Italian parsley, cilantro, basil, etc., whatever you may have on hand. Place the fish on wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet, and quickly sear the tuna on both sides (1.5 minutes), do not let the tuna cook or you destroy the true flavor (it's like eating the finest rare beef steak, you can't tell the difference). Served with the butter and wild rice/lemon pilaf or greens, it's total heaven! And all I do with the refrigerated leftover sauce and to cook another tuna meal is let the butter get to room temperature, scoop an amount on a plate, and set the hot fish upon it. Unless you reheat the butter VERY carefully and slowly, it will separate such as in a clarification process, changing its flavor and quality. This is absolutely my favorite meal!!!! TEN stars on the sauce, and wasabi away to your tasting!

5 users found this review helpful
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 0 star rating.
Reviewed on Apr. 27, 2005 by FOODEXPERT007
This is one of the best recipes for seared ahi tuna. If you're watching fat and calories you can reduce the amount of sauce you put on the tuna or reduce the amount of butter as I did and it is still wonderful (I reduced both the amt of butter in the recipe and the amt of sauce i put on each serving, so figure 1C = 16T. I used 3/4C (12T) or so and used about 1/8 of that sauce on each serving (equates to less than 2T butter per serving). Recipe is also very simple and quick. Why spend more time on a more complex recipe that doesn't taste as good? Seared tuna can be somewhat sweet in flavor on its own and many recipes over enhance this. If I could give this more stars I would.

5 users found this review helpful


 
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Recipe Submitter:

DARLA C.
Cooking Level: Expert
Living In: Lakeside, Arizona, USA
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NUTRITION INFORMATION

Servings Per Recipe: 6

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 526

  • Total Fat: 34.6g
  • Cholesterol: 160mg
  • Sodium: 344mg
  • Total Carbs: 3.6g
  •     Dietary Fiber: 0.3g
  • Protein: 40.7g

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