Recipe
Seared Tuna Poke Bowl
Sometimes you find a combination of flavors that is so perfect that you can’t get enough. That’s the case with this seared tuna poke bowl. Each of the components of this dish are tasty on their own: forbidden rice is so delicious, and seared yellowfin tuna is a favorite around here. But together? Wow. The vegetables are tossed with a little lime juice and vinegar before going on the bowl and that really enhances the flavor of this dish.
Now, some people sear tuna on a screaming hot grill, but my gas grill doesn’t get hot enough, and I can’t see firing up the BGE for something that is going to cook for a total of about 5 minutes. So I do this on the stovetop in my outdoor kitchen. Because it’s messy. I use a cast iron skillet and a cooking screen. Now, the trick to searing tuna (in case you have never done it) is to cook it extremely quickly so the outside browns and the inside remains pink (unless you are my husband who likes his medium well…we can discuss that later.)
This dish is pretty involved, so think about it as an event and enjoy the process. I last made it with friends who went home and made it for themselves a few days later. So, taking part in doing it once made it easy to do it again.
Involved? Yes. Worth it? Totally!
#Losethefear! #Enjoytheride!
Video
Video: How to make Seared Tuna Poke Bowl. Little piles of marinated veggies and sesame-coated seared tuna are arranged over black rice, then drizzled with Tahini Dressing for an incredibly flavorful meal. Cook with friends!
Ingredients
Core Ingredients
4 yellowfin tuna steaks (about 2 lbs.)
1 ½ cups forbidden (black) rice
2 T high-smoke-point cooking oil (e.g., grapeseed, peanut, avocado)
1/3 cup black sesame seeds
Ingredients for the Marinade
2/3 cup soy sauce
2 T lime juice
2 t red chili garlic sauce
¼ cup olive oil
1 T ginger, minced
Ingredients for the Dressing
2 T soy sauce
2 T water
6 T tahini
2 T lime juice
2 t sriracha
Ingredients for the Toppings
1 lb. bok choy, roughly chopped
2 avocados, sliced
6-8 radishes, thinly sliced
Pickled red onions or thinly sliced red onion
3-4 carrots, shredded
1 lb. broccoli florets, steamed
2 T apple cider vinegar + 2 T lime juice
Instructions
Step 1
Marinate the tuna. Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a glass measuring up and set aside. Rinse the tuna steaks and pat them dry with paper towels. Pour a little of the marinade into a medium-sized baking dish, then lay the fish in and pour the rest of the marinade over the fish. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Step 2
Make the dressing. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. If you are heat-averse, use only 1 t of the sriracha. Taste and adjust heat (sriracha), acid (lime juice), and salt (soy sauce). Add enough water to get it to the desired consistency.
Step 3
Cook the rice. Measure the rice into a medium-sized sauce pan, then rinse it. Pour off as much water as you can, then add 2 ¼ cups of water. Bring to a hard boil, then turn the heat to low, cover, and set a timer for 25 minutes. Don’t lift the lid. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest for 10 more minutes. Then check it. There should be no water at the bottom when you tip the pot. Pop the top back on and set aside until ready to plate.
Step 4
While the rice cooks, mis en place the toppings. Mix the lime juice and vinegar in a medium-sized bowl. Then chop the bok choy, toss it in the lime and vinegar and lift it out, and set it aside in a bowl. Repeat this with thinly sliced radishes and grated carrots. Discard any remaining vinegar and lime juice.
Step 5
Get a steamer ready for the broccoli, but don’t steam it just yet. This is the last step before plating. So you want it to be ready to go.
Step 6
Sear the tuna. Remove the tuna from the fridge and set a cast iron skillet over high heat. The skillet is ready when a few drops of water dance and pop on the surface. Add a small amount of high-smoke-point oil to coat the surface of the pan, then immediately place the steaks in the pan and set the marinade aside. Use a meat fork to place the steaks where you want them, because when they hit the pan, they will stick. But they will release once the bottom is seared. The point is, don’t try to move them. Cover with your screen and set a timer for 1 ½ minutes for medium rare, 2 ½ minutes for medium, or 3 minutes for medium-well. When the timer goes off, flip them and cover them again with the screen. Set your timer again. Remove them from the heat to a platter, cover with foil and set aside.
Step 7
Pour the marinade into the skillet and stir. It will foam and bubble and look pretty gnarly. Turn the heat down enough so it doesn’t boil over and continue to stir until the mixture thickens. Then turn off the heat and remove the marinade to a glass measuring cup or pour bowl. Pour a little water into the skillet while it is still hot and mix it around to loosen all the stuck bits and make it easier to clean later. (And do clean it later…never leave cast iron soaking overnight!)
Step 8
Steam the broccoli while you assemble the bowls. Steam until it is bright green and still a bit al dentè.
Step 9
Assemble the Poke bowls. Put a scoop of rice at the bottom of each bowl, then place all the vegetables in neat little piles, leaving space for the tuna and the broccoli.
Step 10
Pour the sesame seeds onto a small plate and pour some of the marinade onto another small plate. Take out each tuna steak and coat with the marinade, then the sesame seeds, then add to each bowl. Add the steamed broccoli and drizzle with the dressing.
Seared Tuna Poke Bowl
Ingredients
- 4 yellowfin tuna steaks about 2 lbs.
- 2 T high-smoke-point cooking oil e.g., grapeseed, peanut, avocado
- 1 ½ cups forbidden black rice
- 1/3 cup black sesame seeds
Ingredients for the Marinade:
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 2 t red chili garlic sauce
- 1 T fresh-grated ginger
- 2 T lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
Ingredients for the Dressing
- 2 T soy sauce
- 6 T tahini
- 2 t sriracha
- 2 T water
- 2 T lime juice
- 1 T minced fresh ginger
Ingredients for the Toppings
- 1 lb. bok choy roughly chopped
- 8 radishes thinly sliced
- 1 lb. broccoli florets steamed
- 3-4 carrots shredded
- 2 T apple cider vinegar + 2 T lime juice
- 2 avocados sliced
- Pickled red onions or thinly sliced red onion
Instructions
- Marinate the tuna. Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a glass measuring up and set aside. Rinse the tuna steaks and pat them dry with paper towels. Pour a little of the marinade into a medium-sized baking dish, then lay the fish in and pour the rest of the marinade over the fish. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until ready to cook.
- Make the dressing. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. If you are heat-averse, use only 1 t of the sriracha. Taste and adjust heat (sriracha), acid (lime juice), and salt (soy sauce). Add enough water to get it to the desired consistency.
- Cook the rice. Measure the rice into a medium-sized sauce pan, then rinse it. Pour off as much water as you can, then add 2 ¼ cups of water. Bring to a hard boil, then turn the heat to low, cover, and set a timer for 25 minutes. Don’t lift the lid. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest for 10 more minutes. Then check it. There should be no water at the bottom when you tip the pot. Pop the top back on and set aside until ready to plate.
- While the rice cooks, mis en place the toppings. Mix the lime juice and vinegar in a medium-sized bowl. Then chop the bok choy, toss it in the lime and vinegar and lift it out with your hands. Set it aside in a bowl. Repeat this with thinly sliced radishes and grated carrots. Discard any remaining vinegar and lime juice.
- Get a steamer ready for the broccoli, but don’t steam it just yet. This is the last step before plating. So you want it to be ready to go.
- Sear the tuna. Remove the tuna from the fridge and set a cast iron skillet over high heat. The skillet is ready when a few drops of water dance and pop on the surface. Add a small amount of high-smoke-point oil to coat the surface of the pan, then immediately place the steaks in the pan and set the marinade aside. Use a meat fork to place the steaks where you want them, because when they hit the pan, they will stick. But they will release once the bottom is seared. The point is, don’t try to move them. Cover with your screen and set a timer for 1 ½ minutes for medium rare, 2 ½ minutes for medium, or 3 minutes for medium-well. When the timer goes off, flip them and cover them again with the screen. Set your timer again. Remove them from the heat to a platter, cover with foil and set aside.
- Pour the marinade into the skillet and stir. It will foam and bubble and look pretty gnarly. Turn the heat down enough so it doesn’t boil over and continue to stir until the mixture thickens. Then turn off the heat and remove the marinade to a glass measuring cup or pour bowl. Pour a little water into the skillet while it is still hot and mix it around to loosen all the stuck bits and make it easier to clean later.
- Steam the broccoli while you assemble the bowls. Steam until it is bright green and still a bit al dentè.
- Assemble the Poke bowls. Put a scoop of rice at the bottom of each bowl, then place all the vegetables in nice little piles, leaving space for the tuna and the broccoli.
- Pour the sesame seeds onto a small plate and pour some of the marinade onto another small plate. Take out each tuna steak and coat with the marinade, then the sesame seeds, then add to each bowl. Add the steamed broccoli and drizzle with the dressing.
- Involved? Yes. Worth it? Totally!