ONE of the Asian sauces that I have come to really love on anything and everything is Teriyaki Sauce. I love Chicken Teriyaki and I love the tuna version of the dish. Sweet and salty, light but extremely flavorful, Teriyaki Sauce is so versatile that it goes well with lots of meat, fish and seafood. Mixed into rice, it is also magic.
So, recently, when the fish vendor on wheels who comes around the house almost every day brought me fresh, almost sashimi-grade tuna steak, I decided to make Tuna Steak in Teriyaki Sauce. Normally, you can have tuna simply seared on the outside but still pink on the inside. But this time, I wanted my teriyaki sauce to be slightly caramelized and coating the tuna steak completely.
5 pcs. tuna steak fillets, about 100 grams each
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1-1/2 Tbsps. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. freshly crushed peppercorns
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsps. Chinese rice wine
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsps. water
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1. Fabricate the tuna steaks so that they are sliced evenly and trimmed nicely.
2. Combine minced garlic, grated ginger, crushed peppercorns, soy sauce, sugar, rice wine and vegetable oil. Mix well, then marinate tuna steaks in this mixture for at least 1 hour.
3. Remove tuna steaks from the sauce and pan-grill.
4. Pour marinade into a saucepan and cook. Dissolve cornstarch in water and use to thicken the sauce.
5. Pour sauce over tuna steaks and cook until lightly caramelized and coating the tuna steaks well.
6. Fry minced garlic in hot vegetable oil until golden crisp. Remove.
7. Sprinkle fried garlic over tuna steaks in teriyaki sauce just before serving.
*Variation: The tuna can be cut up into cubes before marinating and cooking for a different version of tuna teriyaki dish.
