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Asian Dinner

Sesame-Crusted Ahi with Soy-Lime-Ginger Sauce

Seared ahi with a crust of black and white sesame, finished with a soy-lime sauce heavy on ginger, and served over jasmine rice. It cooks fast, so have everything ready before the fish goes in the pan.

By Jeremy

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White bowl of sesame-crusted seared ahi sliced over jasmine rice with soy-lime sauce, with cucumber salad of chili crisp and sesame on the side

Sesame-crusted ahi seared in a nonstick skillet and finished with a soy-lime sauce heavy on ginger. It cooks fast, so have the rice going and the sauce mixed before the fish hits the pan. Cucumber salad on the side rounds it out.

COOKING WITH JEREMY

Sesame-Crusted Ahi with Soy-Lime-Ginger Sauce

Seared ahi with a crust of black and white sesame, finished with a soy-lime sauce heavy on ginger, and served over jasmine rice. It cooks fast, so have everything ready before the fish goes in the pan.

Prep
20 min
Cook
15 min
Total
35 min
Yield
Serves 3

Ingredients

Ahi

  • 8 to 12 oz frozen ahi tunaabout 5 pieces in the bag; recipe works the same either way. Thaw out of the packaging in the fridge
  • salta little
  • black peppera little
  • toasted black sesame seedsenough to coat the tops
  • toasted white sesame seedsenough to coat the tops
  • avocado oiljust enough to lightly coat the pan

Soy-lime-ginger sauce

  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tsp rice vinegarabout
  • 2 tsp ground ginger

To serve

  • 1 1/2 cup jasmine riceuncooked; cook in the rice cooker

Let’s cook

  1. Mix the sauce

    Stir together the soy sauce, lime juice, honey, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, and ground ginger.

    Dark soy-lime-ginger sauce with oil droplets mixed in a stainless steel bowl with a fork

  2. Start the rice

    Cook 1.5 cups of jasmine rice in the rice cooker.

  3. Season the ahi

    Pat the thawed steaks dry. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then press black and white sesame seeds onto the tops.

    Five raw ahi steaks on a white cutting board topped with black and white sesame seeds, salt, and pepper

  4. Sear the first side

    Lightly oil a nonstick skillet with avocado oil over medium heat. Add the ahi and sear about 90 seconds, until the sesame crust is golden.

    Five sesame-seasoned ahi steaks just placed in an oiled square nonstick skillet on the stovetop

  5. Flip and watch for hot spots

    Flip the steaks. Your skillet will have hot spots, so watch them and move the pieces around as needed for an even sear.

    Ahi steaks flipped in the skillet, seared sesame crust facing up with rare pink sides still showing

  6. Finish off the heat

    If the sesame seeds brown faster than the tuna cooks, pull the pan off the heat and let the ahi finish in the hot pan, flipping once or twice more. The smallest pieces can take the longest.

  7. Pull and rest

    Take the ahi out at 135 to 140°F in the center and rest 5 to 10 minutes. The outside should be crusty and seared, and the inside soft, pink, and warm, around rare-plus to medium-rare, never hard-cooked.

    Five finished sesame-crusted ahi steaks resting on a white cutting board with a squeezed lime in the background

  8. Slice and serve

    Slice against the grain and fan over the rice. Spoon the sauce over at the table. I split most of the sauce over two servings; there's enough left for one leftover serving. Serve with the cucumber salad on the side.

Kitchen notes

  • Pairs well with Sesame Chili Crisp Cucumber Salad.
  • Temperature: USDA recommends 145°F for fish. Pulling at 135–140°F for a pink center is a personal choice; check that the center actually reaches the temp you want rather than assuming the rest will get it there.
  • Thaw: these were frozen. Thaw them out of the packaging in the fridge.
  • Hot spots: keep an eye on how each piece looks and move them around so you get an even sear across the batch.

From Cooking with Jeremy · https://cookingwithjeremy.com/recipes/sesame-crusted-ahi-soy-lime-ginger/

weeknight asian inspired seafood