Crunchy Asian Seared Tuna Salad with Peanut Sauce
Crunchy Asian Seared Tuna Salad with Peanut Sauce is brimming with color, texture, and flavor. The tuna is like butter that melts in your mouth. Asian Dressing and Peanut sauce top this salad with yumminess.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cooking
- Cuisine: A
Ingredients
Scale
Peanut Sauce
- 5 tablespoons Peanut Butter
- 3 tablespoons Teriyaki Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Hot Sauce (like Tabasco)
- 3 tablespoons Raw Honey
- 1 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
Asian Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 1 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Honey
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Ginger, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoon Black and White Sesame Seeds
Asian Arugula Salad with Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks
- Grapeseed Oil, to cover 1/2 inch of the bottom of cast iron pan
- 4 Ahi Tuna Steaks
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- Black and White Sesame Seeds, for coating Tuna
- Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper, season generously
- 4 cups Spring Mix
- 3/4 cup Edamame, shelled
- 3/4 cup Carrots, shredded
- 3/4 cup Red Cabbage, shredded
- 3/4 cup Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup Lightly Salted Peanuts, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup Rice Noodles
Instructions
Peanut Sauce
- Combine peanut butter, Teriyaki Sauce, and water in a medium size microwavable dish.
- Heat in the microwave on medium for about 1 minute.
- Whisk in the raw honey, hot sauce, and sesame oil. Set aside.
Asian Vinaigrette
- In the food processor combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic, and lemon juice.
- Start the food processor and let it run as you slowly drizzle in the sesame oil and grapeseed oil.
- Remove to a small serving bowl and whisk in green onions and sesame seeds.
- Serve Immediately or refrigerate up to a week.
Seared Tuna Salad
- Coat the tuna steaks with olive oil and generously salt and pepper each.
- Combine the black and white sesame seeds in a saucer and coat top and bottom of tuna with the sesame seeds.
- Add the grapeseed oil to cover 1/2 inch of the bottom of a cast iron pan and heat over high heat until it begins to smoke.
- Add each tuna steak and cook for 1 minute. You will be tempted to cook it longer but the best way to sear tuna is very quickly.
- Turn and cook for 1 more minute and remove from the oil and let sit to cool slightly. Cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch strips.
- In a salad serving bowl, add the spring mix salad.
- In a pinwheel design add the edamame, carrots, red cabbage, red pepper, peanuts and rice noodles.
- Place the seared tuna slices on top the salad in a circular pattern.
- Serve with the Asian Vinaigrette and the Peanut Sauce.
Notes
- When looking for tuna to sear, you want really good quality. Ahi Tuna, which is actually called yellowfin or bigeye (the more expensive of the two) is what you need to choose.
- Pay attention to the label when purchasing your ahi tuna and make sure it says "wild caught" and not "farm raised."
- I never pick thawed fish at the counter, because basically, it is the same as the frozen. They just open a package and set it out to thaw.
- Never, never, never set fish out on the counter to thaw. It's a sure way to invite bacteria.
- Refrigeration is the safest means of thawing fish. Remove the frozen tuna from the vacuum-sealed package and place the steaks on a plate covered with foil or plastic wrap while defrosting. Place it in the refrigerator and thaw for at least 12 hours.
- Another safe way to thaw your tuna is a cold water bath. Remove the frozen tuna from the vacuum-sealed package and place it in an airtight plastic ziplock bag. Then place the tuna in a large bowl of ice-cold water and let them sit for one hour. You'll want to change the water after about 30 minutes, making sure it is consistently cold.
- The trick is to use an oil that can withstand high heat, therefore I chose grapeseed oil. Heat the oil in the pan to almost smoking before you add the tuna steak.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 Salads
- Calories: 579
- Sugar: 16 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 29 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 45 g
- Cholesterol: 63 mg
Keywords: seared tuna salad, Ahi tuna salad, seared Ahi tuna recipe, Asian Vinaigrette, Asian salad recipe, spicy peanut sauce