Kick the Canned {Tuna}

What's for Dinner? 5/27/2010

-Seared Sesame Tuna Steaks with Orange Sauce
-Steamed Broccoli
-Leftover Brown Rice & Black Beans

Recently the hubs and I discovered a mutual love of all things tuna {and I'm not talking about the canned kind here}. We order it every chance we can get at restaurants but we had never cooked with it before.

We found some awesome flash-frozen, vacuum-packed yellowfin tuna steaks at the grocery store that we immediately snatched up. Then the search for recipes began and I, of course, went to my old faithful CookingLight.com. This recipe popped up in the search results and I decided it was definitely worth trying.


Our first attempt at cooking seared tuna was a SUCCESS! This dish was so perfect and tasted just like something we could have ordered from a fancy schmancy restaurant. The sauce was very Asian in flavor which went great with the tuna.

Our steaks were quite a bit thicker than the recipe called for so we did have to cook them for longer than called for. And in case you didn't know, seared tuna should be served rare! Don't overcook it!

If you've never tried non-canned tuna before, I encourage you to give it a shot. It's a really delicious, meaty fish and doesn't taste "fishy" at all. It's even good raw...although we always leave that up to professional chefs in restaurants! ;)

Seared Sesame Tuna with Orange Sauce
Source: Cooking Light

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 steak, about 1/2 cup of couscous, and 2 1/2 tablespoons of sauce)

1 cup water {Omitted}
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided {Omitted}
2/3 cup uncooked couscous {Omitted}
Cooking spray
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6-ounce) Bluefin tuna steaks (about 3/4 inch thick) {ours were quite a bit thicker}
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges) {we subbed orange juice from a carton}
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Bring 1 cup water and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. {Omitted all this}

While the couscous stands, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Combine the sesame seeds, flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Dredge both sides of tuna steaks in the sesame seed mixture. Add the fish to pan, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove the fish from pan, and keep warm. {Our fish was thicker so required about double the cooking time}

While the fish cooks, combine the orange juice and the next 5 ingredients (orange juice through garlic) in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Combine 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan, and cook for 2 minutes or until the sauce is thickened, stirring frequently. Serve the fish with the couscous and sauce.


CALORIES 460 (28% from fat); FAT 14.3g (sat 3g,mono 4.1g,poly 4.9g); IRON 3.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 118mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.2g; SODIUM 513mg; PROTEIN 45.7g; FIBER 1.6g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2003