Catfish Out of Water

It's like someone flipped a switch and it's all of sudden fall. The leaves have started falling. Rain has set in. The scent of nutmeg is in the air. I just started putting out Halloween decorations. And I found myself picking up an entire bushel of apples, without quite knowing what I was going to do with them. Somehow sashimi-grade ahi tuna steaks were also the best priced seafood at the time. So, now I quite excitedly find myself making Ahi Tuna Steak w/ Tamari & Black Sesame Seeds. Alongside Quinoa w/ Apples, Red Chilis, & Walnuts and Marinated Apples w/ Tamari & Apple Cider Vinegar.

I'd never actually made tuna before. I've eaten it a few times and I once made swordfish, so I was assuming that the process was fairly similar and entirely do-able. After all, sashimi-grade tuna is edible raw. That makes cooking it perfectly not that big a deal! You're really just searing the edges. Which means that the risk of overcooking it is much more important than the risk of undercooking it.

And it really was surprisingly easy to cook. I feel like I'm always kind of afraid of cooking seafood. If anything doesn't work? Bad seafood is absolutely... the stuff of nightmares. Which is not what I wanted to go into the festive fall season with! But cooking ahi tuna steak was surprisingly easy and absolutely delicious. Not to mention hands down one of the most beautiful things that I've made lately. I still have half a steak and a second fillet to play with and am incredibly excited for this new venture.

Gallery

Variations of Ahi Tuna Steak

I might not always pick up tuna, but I am a fan of fish. I also live close enough to Chicago to get a fairly good supply of fish. Which can be difficult in the mid-West sometimes! But I grew up on the West coast and crave seafood. So, regardless of where I've ended up in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin, I can still get absolutely delicious fish sometimes! And am going to take full advantage of it when I can.

Salad w/ Salmon, Fresh Salsa, & Avocado Dip

Salad w/ Wine Poached Salmon, Ethiopian Lentils, & Sautéed Spinach

Blackened Tilapia w/ Quinoa, Lettuce & Avocado Dip

Salad w/ Ahi Tuna Steak, Tamari Quinoa, & Apples

This ahi tuna steak combines apple and tamari quinoa, roasted apple slices, and black sesame crusted tuna, sliced thinly to perfection. It's the perfect meal for the beginning of the fall season and a great way to bring in fall flavors, without going straight to pumpkin spice lattes. You can substitute other types of fish or seafood if swords steaks aren't your fancy or there is more readily available seafood in your area. I'm particularly fond of the apple theme going on here with the roasted apple slices, quinoa with apples, and apple cider vinegar in the tuna steak marinade.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Asian, Latin American

Servings 1 serving

Equipment

• Rice Cooker
• Small Bowl
• Skillet (Preferably 1 Cast Iron and 1 Not Cast Iron)
• Stovetop
• Paper Towels

Ingredients

  

Apple Quinoa

• 1 apple diced
• 2 red chilis fresh, diced
• 1/4 yellow onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash nutmeg
• 1 ½ c. quinoa
• 3 c. water
• 1/8 c. tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1/8 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 c. walnuts crushed

Marinade

• 2 tbsp. tamari (or soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Marinated Apples

• 1/2 apple sliced

Ahi Tuna Steak

• 6 oz. ahi tuna steak sushi or sashimi grade
• splash high heat oil for pan
• 3 tbsp. black sesame seeds

Salad

• 1/3 c. apple quinoa
• 1/2 ahi tuna steak sliced
• 3 slices marinated apples

Instructions

 

Cook Quinoa

• Add all of the ingredients, except for the tamari, apple cider vinegar, and walnuts, into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger produce and then add the smaller ingredients. Top with the spices. And then add the quinoa and water.

  This cooks the larger vegetables on the bottom, while dispersing the flavor profiles in the middle. Although with some mixing, this really doesn't matter all that much. Everything will eventually cook together!
• Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.
• When the quinoa is fully cooked, let sit for 10 minutes and add the tamari, apple cider vinegar, and walnuts. Then, fluff with a wooden spoon and serve.

Roasted Apples

• While the quinoa is cookinig, slice up half an apple and place in a bowl with tamari, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

  You can place the bowl in the refrigerator and marinate up to 2 hours. The longer the marinade, the more intense the flavor. Just watch the amount of salt that you add because, while the sweet and salty flavor combination does pair incredibly well, it is easy to overwhelm it here.
• Preheat a skillet on medium-high heat. Add a small amount of high heat oil to the pan.

  If you're cooking the apples and tuna back-to-back, remove the tuna from the refrigerator at this point.
• After the full 30 minutes, remove the apples from the tamari mixture and place on the skillet.

  Retain the marinade to use with the ahi tuna steak.
• Roast the apples for about 2 minutes, or until it just begins to blacken. Then, flip and roast another 2 minutes on the other side.
• Set aside and leave skillet at medium-high heat.

Ahi Tuna Steak

• If you haven't already, remove the ahi tuna steak from the refrigerator and let rest for about 15 minutes, or until it just about reaches room temperature.
• Pat the tuna dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Then, dip the tuna into the tamari marinade. Making sure to rotate it so that all sides are lightly coated.
• Place the tuna on a plate or other flat surface and coat with black sesame seeds.

  It helps to lay down a layer of sesame seeds and press the tuna lightly into them. Then, rotate and do the same all the way around the fish, until the entire fillet is lightly coated.

  It doesn't have to be perfectly completely coated, but you do want to prevent the fish from touching the skillet directly. So, make sure that it's covered enough to prevent this from happening. Tuna can be seared directly on the skillet, but it will need a much shorter cooking time and may overcook if it isn't coated enough.
• Add another drop of oil to the skillet and carefully place the ahi tuna steak.
• Cook for 2 minutes, or until the outer layer has just begun to turn a whiter hue.
• Flip the fillet and cook another 2 minutes on the other side.
• Remove from heat and let rest a few minutes.
• Slice the ahi tuna steak into 1/4 inch slices. It helps to do this on a slight angle for appearances sake, but that is entirely optional.
• Arrange quinoa, marinated apples, and tuna steaks on a plate. Serve immediately.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• For additional information as well as a few more tips and tricks, I have full articles on all of the individual parts of this recipe:
  • Quinoa w/ Apples, Red Chilis, & Walnuts 
  • Marinated Apples w/ Tamari & Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Ahi Tuna Steak w/ Tamari & Black Sesame Seeds