How to Cook Ahi . Tuna

Ahi tuna, or yellowfin tuna, tastes like meat and is delicious. This rich-tasting fish provides a rich source of protein, is low in fat, and is easy to prepare. Ahi tuna steaks are usually grilled or pan-seared for the best flavor, but you can also bake them in the oven to give them an unusual texture. If you are going to buy a piece of premium tuna (the type of fish used to make Sushi), you can skip the processing step and eat it raw.

Preparation time (Frying): 10 minutes
Cooking time: 4-5 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes

Table of Contents

Ingredient

Ahi . Tuna Steak
Peanut oil or vegetable oil
Seasoning or marinade

Pan-fried Ahi . Tuna

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Choose fresh or frozen tuna steak. Ahi tuna is sold as large steaks or fillets that can be prepared in the same way as beef steak. Look for a dark red tuna steak with a firm fish flesh. Don’t buy steaks that are shiny or look dry. In addition, you should not buy fish with spots or pale colors.

Buy 170g steak per serving.
If using frozen tuna steak, thaw completely and refrigerate before serving.
From late spring to early autumn is the freshest tuna season. If you want to buy fresh ingredients, it’s best to buy during tuna season. And frozen tuna is available all year round.
Ahi or yellowfin tuna from the US or Canada is the best choice because the mercury content in the fish is relatively low and the fish is not overfished. Buying bluefin tuna should be avoided because of its higher mercury content and overfished fish around the world. ^{[1] X Trusted Source National Resources Defense Council Go to source}

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Make a seasoning mixture for the tuna dish. Pan-fried tuna is often coated with seasonings to bring out the meaty flavor of the fish. You can season your steak or any seasoning mix that contains ingredients like garlic powder, pepper, and dried herbs. Mix the following ingredients yourself in a bowl to make a seasoning mix (makes enough to marinate a 170g steak):

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Heat a pan or grill. Tuna steaks and tuna fillets are usually very easy to sear on the grill or over the stove. The trick is to preheat the pan or grill completely before adding the tuna to the pan. This way, the fish will be evenly cooked and medium crispy.

If using a stove, heat a cast iron or heavy skillet over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of peanut or canola oil and heat until the oil starts to smoke. ^{[2] X Research Source}
If you use a grill, burn the coals about half an hour before you cook the fish. This will make the temperature hot enough to sauté the tuna.

Spread the seasoning mixture over the tuna. Each piece of tuna steak or tuna fillet needs to marinate about 1-2 tablespoons of seasoning. Spread the seasoning on the sides of the fish so that the seasoning is covered. Then, let the fish marinate at room temperature before placing it on the grill or in the pan.

Sauté both sides of the tuna pieces. People often eat rare tuna steak because the texture of the rare tuna piece will look more beautiful, and when fully cooked, the fish will be dry.

To make the fish crispy on the outside and rare on the inside, place the tuna pieces on the pan or grill and let the first side cook for about 2 minutes. Flip the fish over and sauté for another 2 minutes and then turn off the heat.
Watch the fish as it cooks so it doesn’t get overcooked. You should see the heat cook the tuna from the bottom up. If you feel frying on one side for 2 minutes is too long, you can flip the fish sooner.
If you prefer to eat fully cooked tuna, let it cook for a little longer.

Baked Ahi Tuna

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Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Grease the baking dish. Choose a glass or ceramic baking dish that is slightly larger than a tuna steak or tuna fillet. Brush the bottom and sides of the baking dish with piu oil to prevent the fish from sticking to the plate.

Butter and marinate the tuna. Spread a tablespoon of melted butter or piu oil over each tuna steak or tuna fillet. Then season with salt, pepper and your favorite dried herbs. Yellowfin tuna itself has a very good taste so you just need to season it with seasoning.

If you want, you can squeeze in lemon juice to enhance the taste of the tuna.
You can also marinate tuna with traditional seasonings such as soy sauce, mustard or sliced ginger.

Grilled tuna. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake until the fish skin is no longer pink and flakey when pierced with a fork. This process may take 10-12 minutes. The baking time will depend on the thickness of the steak. After 10 minutes, check to see if additional baking is needed. ^{[3] X Research Resources} After 10 minutes, check the steaks to see if they need more time.

Rare tuna is better because cooked tuna is often dry and has a fishy taste.
If you want the baked tuna to have a crispy topping, turn on the oven and grill the top of the fish for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.

Making Tuna Tartare

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Choose the type of tuna used to make Sushi. Tuna Tartare is a dish made from raw Ahi tuna. This is a delicious dish that requires no cooking and is one of the most popular ways to prepare tuna dishes. If you want to make tuna tartare, you should choose a good fish (the type of fish used to make Sushi) because the fish will not be cooked to kill flukes and bacteria.

To make 4 servings of Tuna Tartare, you need 0.45kg of fish. Tuna steak or tuna fillet are fine.
To make this dish, fresh tuna will taste better than frozen tuna.

Prepare fever. Tuna Tartare is served with a sauce made of fresh citrus fruit and intense mustard. To make a delicious Tuna Tartare, mix all of the following ingredients in a bowl: ^{[4] X Source of Research}

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon minced Jalapeno peppers
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 and a half teaspoons of mustard powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper for seasoning

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Cut the tuna into small squares. Use a sharp knife to cut the tuna into 0.3-0.6 cm squares. Using a knife is easiest, but you can use a food cutter to save time.

Add tuna to the sauce. Mix well so that the tuna is covered with the sauce. Instant tuna tartare with saltine crackers or deep-fried thin-sliced potatoes.

If not eaten right away, the lime juice in the sauce will begin to react and change the texture of the tuna.
If you don’t want to eat it right away, keep the sauce and tuna separately and when you’re ready to eat, mix them together.

Advice

When frying, you should use vegetable oil or peanut oil because they will take longer to smoke. The butter and piu oil will drain quickly and burn before the pan is hot enough to sauté the tuna.

Warning

Do not overcook as the tuna will dry out.

Things you need

Pan or grill
Oven baking dish