The Raw, The Medium and The Well Done.

6 lbs loin of Fresh Ahi

When a friend stops by with a beautiful pink flesh, 6 lb loin of Ahi or yellow fin tuna, the question becomes what should one do with this precious piece of fish? This warm water fish has traveled a long way from the Pacific Ocean.  It ranks up there, alongside salmon as one of the fish that has the highest omega 3 fatty acid content to help boot up the brain.  With this kind of resume, cooking the fish has to be done carefully and respectfully.  The simplest 3 treatments, highlighting the diversity of flavor is to prepare it raw, half cooked and fully cooked.  By far, eating Tuna these ways are the closet to eating a piece of steak from the ocean. 

First is the "raw" way.  Eaten as Sashimi, Carpaccio, Poke or with Sushi rice I think is the best.  One can taste the subtle sweetness which disappears after the fish is fully cooked. The last time I had Ahi Carpaccio was in the South Pacific. Thinly sliced raw tuna was drenched with Tahitian vanilla bean oil. The fish was probably caught in the deep sea, just beyond the ring of the coral reefs I swam in.

The Raw-Hawaiian Poke

Poke is my newly acquired taste for tuna after the visit to Hawaii.  Traditional Poke is simple. It is composed of 4 ingredients-- fresh raw tuna, Hawaiian red sea salt, inamona (kukui nut) and limu kohu (seaweed).  I like to eat the traditional Poke with an Asian dressing (soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and a pinch of sugar) and sliced jalapeño peppers, coriander leaves and scallions.  Together with coconut rice and a Blue Hawaiian, this dish is irresistible.

The Medium-Seared Ahi

Another way of preparing Tuna is searing and cooking the meat half way.  I marinate the fish with a couple tablespoons of soy sauce, crusted with black sesame seeds and pan fried in canola oil for about 2 min. on each side, depending on the thickness of the fish.  Serve the tuna with wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger.

The Well Done-Fish Taco

One of my family's favorite is grilled Fish Taco. When the fish is this fresh, it needs only a few ingredients to push it off the cliff.
Sprinkle kosher salt and pepper on the Tuna steak and grill on medium high heat for about 2½ minutes on each side. Serve with corn or flour tortillas, honey chipotle sauce, cabbage and a squeeze of lime.
The chipotle sauce is composed of 3 adobo chipotle peppers, 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, 1/4 cup of honey. Blend them together in a food processor. 

Cheers!
Teera