In conjunction with my podcast with Michael Ruhlman’s
Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. And true to the book’s goal, I didn’t use a recipe to develop the Lime-Ginger Vinaigrette for the Sesame Seared Tuna. After a quick check in the refrigerator, I had one good key lime and a nub of ginger…so following Ruhlman’s ratio for 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, I whisked together this concoction.
Yes, maybe you already know a vinaigrette’s 3:1 ratio, but how about a ratio for Hollandaise, Pizza Dough, Crepe, Sausage, Brine, Custards, Caramel Sauce, Pound Cake, Biscuit Dough plus 22 more formulas? Know a ratio and it’s like knowing 1,000 recipes.
Get Michael’s book – you can buy a signed book (just tell him what you want inscribed in the book) directly from Michael Ruhlman or unsigned (slightly cheaper) from Amazon.
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Listen to my steamy podcast with Michael Ruhlman.
Watch Michael Ruhlman’s video about his book, Ratio
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One of Michael Ruhlman’s essential tools in the kitchen is his scale. I can’t emphasize the importance of using a kitchen scale as different ingredients measure differently. Leiftheit has a wide range of kitchen scales, but I like this one the best:
. It’s as thin as a magazine…sleek and small. I’m giving one of these away to a random commenter! To enter, just comment over at the post where I interviewed Michael Ruhlman.
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In the meantime, enjoy my recipe for Sesame Seared Tuna with Lime Ginger Vinaigrette!
You should have 2 pieces of tuna, wasabi paste and a shallow bowl of sesame seeds. You don’t have to have a mixture of black and white seeds, just one color will do, but you can see that the tuna looks so pretty with the mixture of sesame seeds. Pat the tuna very dry with paper towels:
Smear wasabi on both sides of the tuna. I love smearing wasabi ON the tuna, instead of having an overly-wasabi’d soy sauce mixture that you will find in most restaurants. Cooking with the wasabi paste on the tuna mellows out its sting. It just tastes better. Trust me. Use as much wasabi as you want:
Now season the tuna with salt and pepper. Personally, I like using sea salt:
Now coat each side of the tuna with sesame seeds. Don’t forget the thin sides! All sides should be covered:
Cook the tuna over medium-high heat. Super-high heat will burn the sesame seeds. Burnt sesame seeds taste bitter…and well…burnt. The white sesame seeds should be browned. This photo above is right before I pulled it off the pan. It was perfect.
Now, this is important. Don’t overcook the poor fish. I like having the sides seared and the middle raw. However you like it, just don’t overcook. You can take a knife and cut into the middle of the fillet to check on its progress.
The avocado oil is from my friends at Earthy.com – ooohlala! It’s rich, buttery and a vibrant avocado-y green. I highly recommend it for salad dressing. If you don’t have avocado oil, use olive oil instead.
The ratio for a vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. For the oil, you can use olive, vegetable, canola, grapeseed, etc. I used lovely, flavorful avocado oil. The vinegar can be balsamic, rice vinegar, white vinegar, lime juice or lemon juice. This makes an excellent appetizer!
Serves 4 as appetizer
3 tablespoons black sesame seeds
3 tablespoons white sesame seeds
2 pieces tuna fish fillet (about 1 pound)
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice (or other vinegar)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons avocado oil (or other oil)
salt and pepper
2 large handfuls salad greens (optional)
In a shallow bowl, add the black and the white sesame seeds. Pat the tuna very dry. smear a bit of wasabi paste on both sides of the fish. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the cooking oil. When the oil is shimmering, carefully lay the tuna fillets in the pan, not touching. Cook for 2 minutes then flip the tuna. Cook 2 minutes, then flip the fillets to its side to cook 1 minute. Flip one more time to cook the other side for 1 minute so that you have a good sear on all sides. Please take care not to burn the sesame seeds. If the seeds start turning brown too quickly, lower the heat. Remove the fish to a plate.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, ginger and the oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Slice the fish into thin slices and arrange on a plate. Drizzle some of the lime-ginger vinaigrette over the fish. Toss the remaining lime-ginger vinaigrette with salad greens, if desired.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
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Ana on 9/3/16 at 7:44 pm
Wow! I made this and it was amazing. My husband was never crazy about seared tuna but now it’s his favorite thanks to this recipe! It looks amazing too! Thank you!!!!!
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mary on 11/18/15 at 7:20 pm
I made the tuna tonite, and as you said put wasabi on both sides, and cover with sesame seeds. Well we could hardly eat it, and my husband brought over a box of kleenex on the table our eyes and nose were running. We laughed through the whole meal. I would make it again but just not so much wasabi.
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Jaden on 11/19/15 at 12:01 pm
Hi Mary! LOL – on no! Okay, next time, a little less wasabi 🙂
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Janice on 10/8/15 at 6:45 pm
You definitely need to cook it exactly 2 minutes per side and not a second longer. I overlooked mine because I estimated the time.
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Nancee on 9/14/14 at 11:15 pm
My husbands buddy just went tuna fishing on the Coast of Washington State and sent some Tuna home for us. This is the first time I have ever even handled fresh fish at home!! This recipe was easy to follow and absolutely delicious!! Thank you so much for making my first try with fish a winner! This recipe is going into the regular recipes notebook.
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Dee on 7/2/14 at 9:16 pm
Loved the Tuna…. Not so much the vinaigrette
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Claudia Cooper on 11/15/13 at 7:36 pm
I can’t tell you how many times my boyfriend and I have made this recipe – we absolutely love it! He adds more wasabi than what the recipe calls for, which isn’t too overpowering.
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krisen on 7/27/12 at 5:48 pm
should i marinate the tuna in lime??
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Sandi on 4/24/12 at 7:49 pm
Inspired by the combination here, and needing some way to serve up a left over grilled tuna steak…we drizzled lime juice and olive oil on the tuna bits and tossed them around a little before putting them on our scaled down nicoise salad. Nice combo.
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CJ on 2/21/12 at 9:59 pm
For those asking about fish freshness. Use your nose, fresh fish will smell crisp and clean, way better than most beef and pork. The “fishier” it smells, the older it is.
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Chef Christian Anthony on 11/19/11 at 2:34 am
It’s a solid recipe with one exception. Your instructions for cooking the fish a little off. From the photos you can tell it’s already over cooked. The tuna shouldn’t be cooked any longer than 90 seconds on high heat. Second if you lightly saute the sesame seeds in a little olive/sesame oil before hand and once cooled. Then you can place the tuna for coating. This will help the seeds stay on while cooking and prevent over cooking of the tuna 🙂
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Derek on 12/11/20 at 12:40 pm
So you are saying to sauté the sesame seeds first then coat the tuna with the sautéed cooled sesame seeds, then sear the tuna for 90 seconds per side? Will the sesame seeds not burn then? Thanks, I will try this.
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Sianny on 9/9/10 at 10:52 pm
This recipe it’s delicious! I prepared and was a perfect dinner…I going to cook it again
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Christina on 8/16/10 at 12:54 pm
Made this the other night and it was fantastic! Thanks for the step by step directions for searing the fish.
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David on 6/5/10 at 2:18 pm
Your pictures are always beautiful, and using them along with the recipe is a fantastic training tool for others trying to duplicate a recipe. Love it!
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Gina on 11/2/09 at 10:47 pm
I’m craving tuna and this will be the fist tuna dish I make after my baby is born! I eat something very similar with an egg roll crust and sesame seeds.
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Maarten on 6/15/09 at 11:44 am
At Culimer we started selling tuna sesame last year, it’s a popular item. Clients are enthusiastic about the delicious taste, a great added value. Good luck with it!
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Feast on the Cheap on 5/10/09 at 11:02 am
this sounds delicious, that lime vinaigrette sounds like it would add a nice little kick to just about anything…
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Helen on 5/9/09 at 5:18 pm
I have just stumbled across this recipe and it will be on my menu very soon. I am a lover of tuna and all things lime! This will be a marriage made in heaven.
I am also recently enamored of Sesame oil and am on the verge of dabbing it behind my ears!! I have not tried Avocado oil but avocados are also very high on my list of Fave foods.SOund sliek a must try recipe.Reply
Kim on 5/6/09 at 11:39 am
This was so yummy and so easy to make! Beautiful!
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Ani on 5/4/09 at 4:33 pm
I tried this recipe last week and my fiancee loved it! The instructions with the photos were very straightforward and it was really a 30 min appetizer (together with going to the store and getting the missing ingredients). The cooking time of 2 min per side was perfect. And what is best: no smell of fried fish for days, it didn’t smell even while I was cooking it. Thank you for this great recipe, I will definetely make it again!
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Jun @ IndoChine Kitchen on 5/4/09 at 12:46 am
What a lovely dish. I love everything with sesame. That is something I sure will try.
One question, does the sesame stick to the tuna?
Yes it does! ~jaden
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diva on 5/3/09 at 12:49 pm
aaah, i dont like having my fish overcooked either. i’m a fan of sashimi so i definitely am into the raw fish bit. 🙂 yours is just perfectly done. i’m taking note of this recipe for future dinners!! x
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Scott at Realepicurean on 5/2/09 at 12:13 pm
The second ginger recipe I’ve seen in the past few minutes – which is great because I’m in the mood for ginger right now. Bring it on!
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Holiday Apartments In Southern Spain on 5/2/09 at 7:20 am
Perfect timing as I have just returned from the market with a couple of fresh tuna steaks, now I know exactly what I will be doing with them… now just need to find the wasabi paste
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Katie on 5/1/09 at 2:25 pm
I’m going to dream of this tonight….
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Barry on 4/30/09 at 11:10 pm
Man, I go to NOLA for one week and you go and post this great recipe. Love the the recipe but love the idea of mastering the ratios more (sorry). Gotta go, off to buy the book.
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caroline on 4/30/09 at 7:18 pm
That tuna looks GOOD! Yum.
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The Duo Dishes on 4/30/09 at 3:12 pm
Mmmm, this is a good looking salad. That tuna looks prime!
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Murasaki Shikibu on 4/30/09 at 6:12 am
This sounds fantastic, Jaden. I’ll make this the next time I see some nice looking tuna in the fish section at Carrefour. Unfortunately they’re not too circ*mspect here with things like details so the fish often loses its freshness before it gets to any fish store or anywhere else…so I’ll have to wait until they get ‘lucky’ and the tuna arrives fresh!
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Katie on 4/29/09 at 6:37 pm
Oh my gosh…this looks so yummmmm! I had tuna last nite at a restaurant and it didn’t look this good…this is what I wanted!
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Rebecca on 4/29/09 at 4:58 pm
This looks amazing, my mouth is watering. My stomach is growling. Why do you do this to me, Jaden!? 🙂
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nora on 4/29/09 at 4:28 pm
that chunk of tuna is just awesome .. this one is on my cooking list this weekend
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ChinaMatt on 4/29/09 at 4:11 pm
Sounds great. Think I’ll have to try this next week. Sure my parents will enjoy it too.
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Big Boys Oven on 4/28/09 at 9:31 pm
Oh Jaden, I just love this recipe, so elegant and so simple, my guests will like this one! 🙂
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Ashley on 4/28/09 at 6:47 pm
This looks fabulous! I can’t wait to try it. I looooove black sesame seeds!
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Diana on 4/28/09 at 5:06 pm
Oh man I love, love, love ahi! The next fresh chunk of ahi I get will be for ahi shoyu poke, but after I satisfy that craving I’ll have to try this recipe.
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Cakebrain on 4/28/09 at 1:24 am
This is my favourite way to eat tuna! looks perfect!
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somesummer on 4/27/09 at 5:53 pm
I lovvvvvv the look of the black and white sesame seeds. I think I could try this…..
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Giff on 4/27/09 at 1:55 pm
have just started flipping through the book and it looks quite promising; your tuna looks delicious and I like the sound of lime/ginger/avocado vinaigrette
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SaraQ on 4/27/09 at 12:38 pm
This looks very very tasty! I look forward to trying it. I came to your website via simplyrecipes.com. This is a wonderful site as well and I look forward to reading more!
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Tess on 4/27/09 at 11:27 am
Great recipe. The instructions are so clear and simple and the photos are mouth watering.
Just one question. As someone new to the world of cooking fish, how should I select the freshest tuna steak at the fishmonger? Other than knowing that fresh fish shouldn’t taste too fishy, I don’t really know what else to look for. I’ve asked how fresh the catch was with little success. the fishmonger only tells me when the (frozen) fish was delivered, not caught. Do some fishmongers add color or use other tricks of the trade to make fish seem fresher than it is?
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Alisa - Frugal Foodie on 4/27/09 at 12:33 am
Thanks Jaden, this recipe sounds right up my alley. We love having seared tuna whenever we find some fresh looking ahi, but this adds a nice twist.
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Janet on 4/26/09 at 10:48 pm
Oh wow, this looks so amazing! Why though am I always so afraid to cook tuna myself?!? I love it… I have to make this now- it does look like a side of heaven.
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Mara @ What's For Dinner? on 4/26/09 at 10:11 pm
LOVELY!!! Tuna is one of my very favorite foods 🙂
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Justopia on 4/26/09 at 9:31 pm
OMG! I want to go out right now and pick up a nice hunka tuna! But, sad for me, it’s going to have to wait until my day off — Wednesday. For now I will just sit here and drool over these Sesame Seared Tuna shots and get to ordering my copy of the book.
It sounds awesome. Can’t wait to recive it.
Thanks for another beautiful blog entry!
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