I made this, for the first time, the other night for dinner. I don't know where the craving for tuna came from but I am sure happy it did, this was delish!
The nice thing about this recipe (and cooking in general) is it can be customized however you like. With that said, I have to apologize because my ingredients' picture is not entirely accurate - I ended up changing the dressing as I went along.
The nice thing about this recipe (and cooking in general) is it can be customized however you like. With that said, I have to apologize because my ingredients' picture is not entirely accurate - I ended up changing the dressing as I went along.
Ingredients:
For the Slaw:
1/2 a head of Cabbage - I used Napa
2 Celery Stocks
1 Carrot
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeño
1/2 a pound of Snap Peas
1/2 cup of Cilantro
For the Dressing:
3 Tablespoons of Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon of Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger
1 Clove of Garlic
1/2 a Tablespoon of Wasabi
Zest and juice of 1 and a half Limes (about 3 Tablespoons)
1/2 Tablespoon of Agave Nectar
For the Tuna:
2 Grade A Tuna Steaks
Salt
Pepper
Canola or Vegetable Oil
1/2 a head of Cabbage - I used Napa
2 Celery Stocks
1 Carrot
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeño
1/2 a pound of Snap Peas
1/2 cup of Cilantro
For the Dressing:
3 Tablespoons of Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon of Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger
1 Clove of Garlic
1/2 a Tablespoon of Wasabi
Zest and juice of 1 and a half Limes (about 3 Tablespoons)
1/2 Tablespoon of Agave Nectar
For the Tuna:
2 Grade A Tuna Steaks
Salt
Pepper
Canola or Vegetable Oil
First, take the head of cabbage, remove some of the outer leaves if they look wilted or dirty and remove the core. To do this cut at an angle on both sides of the core to form a triangle and take it out.
Then turn the cabbage on its side and slice it thinly, and place in a bowl.
For the slaw I used a mandolin. Mandolins are one of my favorite kitchen tools! Not only do they make slicing thinly a breeze, but they are inexpensive and many models have a gauge to adjust the thickness of the slices. But BE WARNED: because mandolins things slice so much faster, watch out for your fingers! If you do not have a mandolin an old fashioned knife will do the job too - just make sure the slices are thin.
For the celery, just run the it back and forth over blade of the mandolin. The slices will fall underneath, and can be put in bowl with the cabbage.
On to the bell pepper; cut it in half and take out the seeds, and the ribs (the white stuff) slice thinly and add to the bowl.
For the jalapeño - take a small knife and go around the stem, keep on doing this going deeper into the pepper to remove the seeds and ribs. That is where most of the heat lies and since I used the Wasabi in the dressing I figured removing the pepper seeds would be fine. Slice up it up, and in the bowl it goes.
Next the carrot - peel and cut in half. Switch the blade on the mandolin so that the carrot will be in stripes, and use the guard. Using the guard is a good rule of thumb when slicing with the mandolin especially when fingers will be close to the blade.
The sugar peas can be cut into thirds with a knife. And (you guessed it) placed in the bowl.
Chop up the cilantro and add to the bowl, which will be full of yummy and colorful things.
For the dressing, add the sesame oil*, olive oil, and soy sauce.
*The sesame oil is expensive, and has a strong flavor. To help it keep longer it should be stored in the refrigerator after opening. If you do not want to use this you can use all olive oil.
*The sesame oil is expensive, and has a strong flavor. To help it keep longer it should be stored in the refrigerator after opening. If you do not want to use this you can use all olive oil.
Take the ginger, peel and grate it. Ginger can easily be peeled using a spoon. To grate it I used a microplane, but you can use a normal grater or mince it really small. If you grate it, the ginger might get stuck underneath, just give it a soft tap and it will fall into the bowl.
Do the same thing with a clove of garlic and the zest of a lime.
Add in the wasabi.
Then juice of the lime
Add the agave nectar. I mixed the dressing before adding the agave, which is why it looks how it does in the picture. If you don't have agave, honey or plain sugar is just fine.
Give the dressing a taste and see how you like it. Dip one of the vegetables in it to see how it would taste in the slaw. If you want it spicier add wasabi, sweeter more agave, more gingery add more ginger! Tasting as you go is really important in cooking. Once you like the dressing, add it to the slaw and give it a toss. One great thing about this slaw it since it is made with cabbage it will keep its crunch for a few days after it is dressed, unlike regular lettuce which becomes soggy.
On to the tuna - this is Grade A Tuna which is what is used for sushi. Because the tuna is just seared and not cooked through you want to make sure it is really fresh and good quality. When picking out tuna look for rich, deep, dark red color. It should be firm and not smell fishy.
This much tuna will serve 4 to 5 people. Season each side of the tuna with salt and pepper.
Heat canola oil in a pan. Do not use olive oil because it has a lower smoking temperature which means that it can smoke sooner than a vegetable or canola oil. You want the pan to be extremely hot, so that you can get a good sear, you should be able to see the fish cooking immediately when it hits the pan. It is really important to not touch the fish until it is ready to flip.
The cooking line, where the fish it turning white, will rise as it cooks.
After about two minutes, when the line is almost halfway, flip the fish over.
Cook for two more minutes, remove from the pan and place on a plate to rest for about five minutes. Plate some of the slaw and a piece of the tuna. Either slice it like the first picture or cut a serving size like the picture below.
Variations:
There are a ton of variations for this recipe! First variations on the slaw: any type of cabbage will do, you can add edamame, green onions, mango or orange for something sweet. Add peanuts for more of a Thai twist.
To the dressing: you can add orange juice, or rice wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, or sriracha. Adding a little creamy peanut butter to continue the peanut flavor.
For the protein: you can use salmon, shrimp, tofu, chicken whatever you would like. You can also crust it with sesame seeds before searing.
Seriously the sky is the limit!
To the dressing: you can add orange juice, or rice wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, or sriracha. Adding a little creamy peanut butter to continue the peanut flavor.
For the protein: you can use salmon, shrimp, tofu, chicken whatever you would like. You can also crust it with sesame seeds before searing.
Seriously the sky is the limit!
Full directions:
The Slaw:
1/2 a Head of Cabbage shredded
2 Celery Stocks, thinly sliced
1 Carrot, in thin strips
1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
1 Jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 a pound of Snap Peas, cut into thirds
1/2 cup of Cilantro, chopped
The Dressing:
3 Tablespoons of Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon of Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Grated Ginger
1 clove of Grated Garlic
1/2 a Tablespoon of Wasabi
Zest and juice of 1 and a half Limes (about 3 Tablespoons)
1/2 Tablespoon of Agave Nectar
The Tuna:
2 Grade A Tuna Steaks
Salt
Pepper
Canola or Vegetable Oil
Take the items for the slaw and place in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the ingredients together for the dressing, and taste to make sure it is to your liking. Combine the dressing with the slaw and toss so everything is coated.
Take the tuna and season each side with salt and pepper. Place enough oil in a pan to coat the bottom, and turn heat on high. Once the pan it really hot gently lay the tuna in the pan and do not touch it for 2 minutes. It should be sizzling the whole time, after about two minutes, using a spatula, flip the fish over and leave to cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a plate to rest, about 5 minutes.
Plate the slaw and serve the tuna how you desire. Serve with a lime wedge for extra zing.
1/2 a Head of Cabbage shredded
2 Celery Stocks, thinly sliced
1 Carrot, in thin strips
1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
1 Jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 a pound of Snap Peas, cut into thirds
1/2 cup of Cilantro, chopped
The Dressing:
3 Tablespoons of Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon of Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Grated Ginger
1 clove of Grated Garlic
1/2 a Tablespoon of Wasabi
Zest and juice of 1 and a half Limes (about 3 Tablespoons)
1/2 Tablespoon of Agave Nectar
The Tuna:
2 Grade A Tuna Steaks
Salt
Pepper
Canola or Vegetable Oil
Take the items for the slaw and place in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the ingredients together for the dressing, and taste to make sure it is to your liking. Combine the dressing with the slaw and toss so everything is coated.
Take the tuna and season each side with salt and pepper. Place enough oil in a pan to coat the bottom, and turn heat on high. Once the pan it really hot gently lay the tuna in the pan and do not touch it for 2 minutes. It should be sizzling the whole time, after about two minutes, using a spatula, flip the fish over and leave to cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a plate to rest, about 5 minutes.
Plate the slaw and serve the tuna how you desire. Serve with a lime wedge for extra zing.