Seared Ahi Tuna with Wasabi Butter and Garlic Noodles
Everyone’s favorite eat-out meal is sushi. I think the girls would have it every day for lunch if we were made out of money. Both of them also love fish, which I don’t cook as often as I should, mostly because you really should cook and eat it the same day you buy it and I’ve usually got other things planned on shopping day and because the good fish is usually a lot more expensive than chicken. I also don’t buy anything farm raised and definitely no Atlantic salmon.
Even though sushi grade tuna is still pricey, I rationalize that since we go out to eat about once a month, it’s still way cheaper to buy Ahi than go out for a big sushi meal. I remember having this dish at a steak house at least 15 years ago. What made the dish so fab was the wasabi butter. I knew I could easily replicate the meal. Wasabi plus butter…seared tuna…pink on the inside. Ok, so that’s the recipe.
Around the same time I tasted that Seared Tuna dish, I also went with my friend, Marlee, to “Crustacean” in Beverly Hills with our husbands. The meal was delicious (and pricey!) but I’ve never gotten their signature “garlic noodles” out of my mind. Of course the recipe is one of those secretly guarded, lock and key things. Whatever.
Seared Ahi Tuna with Wasabi Butter
Ahi tuna filets
Unsalted butter
wasabi*, I use about 3/4 tablespoon of softened butter per fish serving and mix to taste with the wasabi until I get the right “bite”.
Brush the fish lightly with sesame or vegetable oil so it won’t stick to the grill. If you want to get fancy, you can dip the edges in sesame seeds, black or white. Since I torched my BBQ last fall and haven’t replaced it yet, I used my Panini press, which actually worked fine and the sesame seeds didn’t fall off.
Sear fish on each side for just a minute or two…the interior of the fish should be dark pink/red.
Top with a dollop of Wasabi butter. Serve with pickled ginger and…
Not Crustacean’s Garlic Noodles
1/2 pound cooked spaghetti noodles
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
handful of fresh chopped cilantro
- Melt the butter and garlic, cook on low for just a minute or two, add sesame oil and soy sauce and toss with cooked pasta.
- Toss onions and cilantro, season to taste.
* There are two types, powdered and the kind that comes in a tube. You can get both in a regular grocery store in the Asian section. I prefer the tube version.
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