Pan-Seared Tuna Steaks with Gingery Dipping Sauce

Name: Pan-Seared Tuna Steaks with Gingery Dipping Sauce
Yield: serves 4 with 2 or 3 other dishes
Ingredients: 3 tuna steaks, each 1/2 pound and about 1 inch thick; 1/2 teaspoon sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce; 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice; 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil; 2/3 cup Ginger-Lime Dipping Sauce (page 309)

December 14, 2011

This recipe was inspired by a grilled tuna steak that I ordered at a sleepy roadside restaurant in Vietnam. Working tableside on a small charcoal brazier, the young waiter cooked a half-inch-thick tuna steak with care and patience. Back in my home kitchen, I decided to adapt the recipe to the stove top. I find that pan searing allows greater control than grilling over the doneness of the lean, meaty steaks, yielding juicier results. There are no tricks here. The tuna steaks are coated with the same seasonings used for Grilled Shrimp and Squid (page 111), and the gingery dipping sauce offers a good contrast to the richness of the fish. Serve with Chicken Dumpling and Chrysanthemum Leaf Soup (page 61), boiled gailan (Chinese broccoli) or regular broccoli (which are both good with the dipping sauce), and rice.

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