Sashimi grade tuna is one of those things I almost always get when I’m visiting my local seafood market. Fresh tuna is delicious on its own as sashimi or sushi, but another way to enjoy it is to marinate and put in on a grill. It’s an easy way to enjoy fresh tuna and good for any season. Hearts of palm salad and a refreshing grapefruit cocktail complete this meal.
Tableware
To enjoy grilled tuna in my backyard on a warm day, I’m using glass tableware and yes I have to use my fish plates. Glass fish plates and salad bowl are from Pier 1 Imports and although Pier 1 is no more, there are plenty of other retailers that stock fish themed tableware.
There’s a cocktail to go with this meal and I’m using a double old fashioned fish etched glass. I got my set from Williams-Sonoma, but there are other retailers that sell fish etched glassware and you can easily find them online.
Asian Style Marinade
Marinated fish is great when you want something more than just simple grilled fish. They are so easy to make and it’s infused with flavor. I prepared an Asian style marinade that’s not overly sweet and perfect for a meaty fish like tuna. It’s a good balance of savory and sweet flavors. The only down side to this is you can’t prep and eat it right away since you need to marinate it for at least 24 hours to ensure your tuna soak up the flavors.
Main ingredients to this marinade is soy sauce and rice wine (mirin). Soy sauce adds the light teriyaki flavor and glaze, while rice wine will add the sweetness you need to counter balance the saltiness of the soy sauce. To keep this marinade from being overly sweet, one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar will add just a splash of sourness to balance out the sweetness.
I enjoy some spice to my dishes and Japanese dried chili peppers or chile Japones will add just a hint of spiciness to the marinade. If you’re not a huge spicy foods fan, you can omit this from the marinade but the thing I love about Japanese dried chilies are that they don’t add huge amounts of heat to your food but its presence will brighten up your dish. If you can’t find these chilies in your local grocery store they are available through sites like Amazon.
Grilling Tuna Steaks
You can certainly grill this tuna on your stove, but I always prefer to grill my fish outside when the weather permits so my entire kitchen does not smell like grilled fish. When I cook on my grill, I always place sheets of aluminum foil that I fashioned into a tray so I don’t end up with super dirty grill afterwards. To cook your tuna steaks, turn on your grill on high heat, temperature should be around 400 degrees. Once the grill reaches the desired temperature, pour olive oil on the tray, making sure to coat tuna steaks with olive oil on both sides. Grilling time is only five minutes for each side. After you take your fish off the grill and let it rest for few minutes, it’s ready to eat and you’ll get to taste perfectly grilled tuna.
Hearts of Palm Salad
For side veggies, there’s a salad with hearts of palm. I like to add ingredients like hearts of palm to my salad and create different taste and textures. What I also like about this salad is that you don’t need to add any dressing. First mix together chopped avocado, lettuce, pickled onions and vinegar from the pickled onions. As you mix the ingredients, avocado pieces will start to break down, creating a light, creamy dressing on its own. Because avocados are already rich in fat, there’s no need to add oil to the salad. Once all the ingredients are mixed, just add hearts of palm, pearl tomatoes and extra pickled onions on top.
Grapefruit & Lillet Blanc Cocktail
I have weakness for citrus based cocktails and even bigger weakness for Lillet Blanc. I absolutely love this fortified wine from France and ever since I discovered this few years ago, I keep it stocked in my bar at home.
when I saw this cocktail recipe from Angela Goh on Milk & Dust, a site dedicated to travel, food and lifestyle, I had to try it. I adapted the recipe to accommodate my double old fashioned glass by using 2oz of fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and 1oz of vodka. Also to keep my cocktail nice and cold, I added extra large ice cube to my glass. This has definitely become my new favorite cocktail to make at home and goes so well with my fish dish.
Marinated Grilled Tuna Steaks
Ingredients
- 2 lbs tuna steaks
- 2-3 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ cup rice wine
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 whole japanese red dried chile peppers chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4-5 chopped shiso leaves, optional
For Grilling
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Instructions
To Marinate Tuna Steaks
- Take paper towels and wipe the surface of tuna steaks of any excess moisture.
- In a seal-able plastic bag, add crushed garlic, olive oil, rice wine, soy sauce, vinegar, chili peppers, and sugar. Place tuna steaks in the bag and let it marinate for at least 24 hours.
Grilling Tuna Steaks
- Turn on the grill to high heat (desired temperature, 400°). Once the temperature reaches 400°, place aluminum foil on top of grill and pour olive oil. Place tuna steaks on the aluminum foil and coat both sides of tuna with olive oil. Place cover and cook one side for 5 minutes. Turn over after 5 minutes, turn off heat, place the cover back on and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.
- Take fish off the grill and let it rest for few minutes before serving. Add chopped shiso leaves on top of tuna.
Hearts of Palm Salad
Ingredients
- ½ head iceberg lettuce chopped
- 2 large hearts of palm (Use 3 or 4 if small) sliced cross wise
- 5-6 mini or pearl tomatoes halved
- 1 avocado cut in cubes
- ¼-½ cup pickled red onions
- 3 tbsp vinegar from pickled red onions
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rough chop iceberg lettuce that has been thoroughly washed and drained.
- In a salad bowl, add chopped lettuce, avocado pieces, half of pickled onions, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and salt. Mix ingredients together with a large spoon until avocado pieces form a creamy consistency. On top of the lettuce mixture, place halved pearl tomatoes, hearts of palm and rest of pickled onions.
- Pour the rest of vinegar onto hearts of palm and tomatoes, add salt and pepper.
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Wow, looks wonderful! Gotta love grilled Tuna and Grapefruit cocktails!