Without fail, whenever we go someplace where pan-seared tuna is on the menu, my husband orders it. For years I’ve been terrified to make it myself. It was just one of those things that was so deceptively simple, I knew it had to be easy to screw up. And when dealing with fish that’s $24/lb (and that’s not even for the REALLY good stuff), it’s a risk one has to consider.

A recent trip to Mitsuwa, our awesome Asian market, proved too tempting. The fish had just been sliced, placed in the cooler while I stood there. I pressed on the fish like Ming taught me to do to see how fresh it was… solid as a rock. It was beautiful, and it cost about the same as the rolls of sushi I had in my cart. I decided to take the leap, and I’m so glad I did. I paired this with some of my famous TiaraMaki rolls, and this is how I made the tuna:

I only had a 1/4lb slab of fish — plenty for the two of us, especially when paired with some salmon for the sushi. I cut it into two sections, in case I screwed one up.

For the marinade I used 1.5 tbsp of Tamari soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground ginger (The Ginger People make my favorite) and a splash of lime juice. I marinated the fish in a zipper baggie for about 45 minutes before cooking.

In my sauté pan on medium I heated up about a tablespoon of dark sesame oil. When it was hot, I put the fish face down, keeping my tongs handy while I watched the searing progress. I found recipes online that called for up to a minute per side, but I quickly found that letting it cook for that long would quickly cook the fish all the way through. So I just watched, and for about 20-40 seconds on each side I seared the tuna. When it was done I placed it on a layer of paper towel and quickly put the plate in the freezer to keep the fish from cooking longer.

That was it.

Seriously.

My husband declared it amazing and quickly ate it up. I’m actually not a huge fan of this dish, but even I could admit that the freshness of the fish paired with the bite of the ginger made this phenomenal. And it was so easy! I know it won’t be long before he asks me to make this again.

I served this on a bed of chinese broccoli greens that were stir-fried with carrots, mushrooms and onions in just a little soy sauce. Very plain, but beautifully simple.