These sesame crusted and seared tuna steaks are marinated in a quick sauce, crusted in beautiful black sesame seeds, and seared in a hot skillet. Truly one of the quickest and easiest dishes you can make!
As I said in my Ahi Poke Bowl Recipe, I never would have thought I would be eating raw (or in this case rare) tuna steaks. I have come to love Sesame Crusted Tuna so much that I have it on the regular. Thankfully we live in a day and age that supports my habit because I can find tuna steaks almost everywhere.
When I buy tuna for this recipe or for my diy ahi poke bowls, I buy already frozen tuna just to be on the safe side. Most tuna is frozen as soon as it is caught, so buying it frozen doesn't make any difference on how fresh the tuna is.
HOW TO MAKE SESAME CRUSTED TUNA
We start this recipe off by doing a quick marinade of the tuna in sesame oil and soy sauce. The tuna absorbs the marinade very fast so we really only need to marinate them for a few minutes.
While the tuna is soaking up the marinade, we can start to get our skillet hot and pull out a separate plate for the sesame seeds. I like to use black sesame seeds because I love the way they look, but you can use white if you like, or a combo of the 2.
Now we can place the tuna steaks in the sesame seeds and get all sides coated.
Crust the tuna steaks in the sesame seeds, then place them in the hot skillet. If your skillet is not big enough for both steaks, then cook them one at a time.
We want to sear them on all sides for 1 minute. This, in my opinion, is the perfect amount of time to cook your sesame crusted tuna steaks. If you prefer them cooked a little longer, that is fine as well.
Now we can remove the tuna steaks from the pan to a cutting board and slice them into ½ inch thick slices.
These are perfect eaten as is or served over an arugula salad with an asian inspired dressing.
10 Minute Sesame Crusted Tuna Steaks
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Ingredients
- 2 4 ounce Ahi Tuna Steaks
- 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos
- 2 Tablespoons Black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place the tuna steaks in a shallow plate or bowl. Pour the sesame oil and soy sauce on top of the steaks and flip to coat in the sauce. Set aside to marinate. In a separate shallow bowl or plate, add the sesame seeds.
- Place a non-stick skillet large enough for both steaks over medium-hi heat. leave to get hot.
- Coat each tuna steak in the sesame seeds on all sides. Place in the hot skillet and sear for 1 minute on each side. Remove from the skillet to a cutting board. Slice in ½ inch thick slices.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy only. Please re-calculate on your own with the ingredients and amounts you used for the most accurate data.
Rafay Seyal says
OMG this was sooo good! I followed the recipe exactly including the arugula salad. It was so tasty. This is going to be a regular for me. I did cook it to 125° but it was not as pink as yours. Maybe because I used a stainless steel frying pan? I still loved it! Thank you for sharing.
Andrew Schmidt says
We followed the recipe and our tuna steaks burned onto the pan, even with oil in the pan. Took way longer than 1 minute per side to get up to 145 F also.
Jennifer Banz says
Tuna steaks are meant to be eaten rare (125F), not to 145F.
Kathy says
I've been loving 'flash-seared' ahi for at least 20 years and it is indeed ready in a flash. So delicious. My approach is slightly different, but either way, it's a perfect dinner treat, and wonderful served with quick sauteed green beans.
My fridge always has a plastic container of toasted sesame seeds (I toast them in a skillet... starts slowly and then watch out. Plus they continue to 'toast' for a few minutes after spreading them on paper towels to cool). I pour sesame oil in the pan and then stir in some Garden Gourmet ginger paste and garlic paste. While the pan w/oil+ is getting super hot, I coat each side of the ahi with toasted sesame seeds. Then flash sear - like you do - about 1 minute per side. As I cut the pieces to eat, I dip each in a small dish of soy sauce. Nirvana!
Robert says
Couldn't be easier.....once you find nice, fresh tuna.
GJA says
Simple ingredients, easy to prep, quick to cook, no messy clean up, and delicious. This will be a regular week night meal.
John L. says
Just excellent. Prepared consistent with recipe instructions. Don’t let the simplicity of ingredients or preparation cause hesitation. Very, very tasty. A definite keeper. Highly recommend this one.
JRH says
Quick and Easy, Everyone loved it
Gerd says
Excellent recipe! I tried it out yesterday and it worked perfectly well! Best tuna I ever had. Our guests were very pleased and surprised about the easy but very tasty result!
Daryll says
Do the tuna steaks need to be thawed before the marinade? Or do you go straight from frozen into the marinade
jenniferbanz says
Yes, they need to be thawed
Mary Monk says
It looked like you oiled the pan but it was no in the recipe or instructions. I wasn't sure if you are supposed to use a dry fry method or oil the pan. thanks 🙂
jenniferbanz says
If you use non-stick you shouldn't have to add oil
Shiho says
We have similar called "Tataki" in Japan had this almost everyday, brings back my fond memory of my home country.
Jane Saunders says
I love your photography in this post. You've really shown off the colour of the tuna using white crockery and the black sesame seeds. My mouth is watering and what's so good is that even I can manage this recipe and I'm not great at cooking fish.