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There's plenty to love about this ahi tuna steak entree with sides — it's fast, it's delicious, it's exotic, and it's deceptively simple. For a swift and refreshing dinner after a hard day's work, take your taste buds on this quick, satisfying trip to Asia. Cooking for two? Even better! We think you'll find this dish loves to be shared, and it loves to impress.
Ingredients
- 1 lb tuna steak
- 1 lemon (optional)
- 1 Tbsp wasabi (optional)
Ingredients for Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1 pack bacon
- Olive oil
- Salt & black pepper to taste
Ingredients for Slaw
- 2 cups green cabbage
- 1 cup purple cabbage
- 2 carrots, medium
- ¼ cup parsley
- 1 cup red bell pepper
- 1 cup yellow bell pepper
- 1 bunch of green onion
- Black or white sesame seeds
Ingredients for Dressing
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
Items You'll Need
Instructions
- Preheat your charcoal grill to 450–500°F. To cut down on total cooking time, preheat a well-seasoned steel sear plate on the grids as your work station warms up; this will let you grill the bacon-wrapped asparagus and tuna steak at the same time.
- While the grill preheats, prepare the slaw. You’ll do this by thin slicing the green and purple cabbage, julienning the carrots and bell peppers, and small chopping the green onions and parsley. Place all these veggies in a large mixing bowl, which you’ll cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Next up: the slaw dressing. Mix together ginger, olive oil, sesame oil, honey, rice vinegar, and salt and stir well with a whisk. Pick out a container wide enough to hold the tuna steak; pour in about half the dressing, then add the soy sauce. Move the original portion of slaw dressing into the fridge, but leave out this second container. It’s a very important part of the pre-grilling process — it’ll be our dunking marinade for the tuna, right before it hits the searing plate.
- For the bacon-wrapped asparagus, the recommendation here is standard-sized bacon, not thick-cut; this keeps the vegetable from coming out raw without charring the bacon (choosing pencil-sized asparagus will only make the process that much smoother). Use 1–3 stalks per bacon slice, depending on personal preference. Before wrapping, place the asparagus on a sheet pan and drizzle just enough olive oil to fully coat. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, then begin tightly wrapping with your bacon strips.
- Prepare the tuna steak right before grilling. Let’s call this a 3-part process: dunk, season, sear! Liberally dunk the tuna in your secondary slaw dressing bowl — for greatest ease, let it sit nice and happy beside the grill. Generously season the tuna all over (don’t forget the edges!) with kosher salt and black pepper.
- At this point, the grill should be nice and ready. Cook the wrapped asparagus for 2 minutes on one side. Try to use the outer edges of the cooking surface, as the center could be slightly too hot for the bacon (considering how excitable we all are for bacon, we get it). Once you flip it for 2 minutes on the other side…
- …It’s tuna time! For a 2-inch thick, medium-rare tuna steak, you’ll want to sear for 2 minutes on either side before removing it from the grill.
- While the tuna rests for 5 minutes, mix the slaw and sesame seeds with the dressing. As the time comes, slice the tuna across the grain to your preferred thickness. Serve it over a bed of freshly-tossed slaw and sidecar it with stalks of bacon-wrapped asparagus.
- Want to go the extra mile? Lemon wedges and wasabi, my friend! Just be sure to keep a cool beverage nearby for the heat: wasabi doesn’t mess around!
