Grapefruit and Ginger Tuna Tataki
I’ve been working with a seriously handicapped computer for a while now… my install drive, which contains all of my programs, is so full that it makes it almost impossible for me to work in highly demanding software like Photoshop or Lightroom. My Internet connection is also acting up, so the web is awfully slow and often goes non-responsive, and Flash keeps crashing on me in in Chrome so I constantly have to reload web pages. BEAUTY!
To make matters worse, I recently upgraded to Windows 10 (I was soooo excited about that, for a few days) and lucky me happens to be part of the select few who are stuck dealing with a critical error that prevents the Start menu from being used. This is what I get instead, when I dare click on that button… 
Yeah, right! Of course, I tried that. Numerous times. But it never works… there is no known fix for that bug yet, so I need to wait for Microsoft to come up with a patch, and even when they do, I don’t know how I could even install it, seeing as how I don’t have access to my start menu! I mean seriously: have you ever tried using a computer without ever touching that Start button? You’d be surprised just how many times a day you need to hit that thing. Thank goodness for desktop shortcuts, let me tell you. If it wasn’t for those, I wouldn’t be able to get much work done at all.
So anyway, in an effort to fix my very handicapped computer, I spent countless hours browsing the web learning about all the different components, and came to the conclusion that the best thing for me to do at this point is upgrade my hard drives and then do a clean install of Windows 7. To hell with Windows 10! And I may very well attempt to do it myself ‘cuz it’ll be faster that way and I won’t have to drop off my computer at the “hospital” and leave it there for days… Hopefully everything will go fine, but if I happen to disappear from the blogosphere for a little while, you’ll know exactly why that is!
While I’m waiting for my parts to get here, I’m thinking I should share some good food with you while I still can.
I don’t know about your part of the world, but where I live, it’s been awfully hot and humid lately. Not that I’m complaining, you know. Summer is so short, I’ll take every single bit that I can get!
Thing is, when it gets so hot out, I don’t really feel like eating much… I tend to opt for light and refreshing dishes such as this Grapefruit and Ginger Tuna Tataki. Ah, it may look like it’s somewhat complicated to make, but there’s nothing to it, really. Tataki is just a fancy way of saying “barely cooked and marinated meat”.
In this case, we’re looking at a quickly seared yellowfin tuna steak that gets marinated in a sweet and tangy pink grapefruit and ginger marinade. YUMMY!
Come, I’ll show you how it’s done… it’s super easy, you’ll see!
The toughest part of this recipe would be to to supreme the grapefruit, but even that becomes super easy once you get the hang of it.
Simply trim off the top and bottom of the fruit, then, carefully remove the skin and pith from the flesh with a sharp knife. Begin at the top and follow the contour of the fruit all the way down.
Next, working over a bowl to collect the juice, carefully remove each segment by inserting the blade of the knife between the flesh and membrane, on both sides of each section. The wedges should come out easily, leaving only the membrane intact.
When all the segments have been removed, squeeze the membrane real good to get all the yummy juice out. As you can see, there’s quite a lot!
For this recipe, we’re not going to use the supremes right away because the fish needs to marinate overnight, so just fish them out and put them in the fridge until ready to use.
Then, to the grapefruit juice, add some minced ginger, garlic, green onion, coconut aminos, rice vinegar and salt; set aside.
Time to cook the fish. Now, about that fish… since we want it to remain practically raw in the center, make sure you choose a steak that is at least 1-1/2″ thick, and get the freshest piece you can get your hands on. Sushi grade is the way to go!
Pat your tuna steak real dry and sprinkle it on both sides with a little bit of salt.
Melt a little bit of healthy cooking fat in a heavy skillet set over really high heat, and wait until the pan gets scorching hot; when that happens, carefully place the tuna in the pan and let it sear for about 1 minute per side, or until a nice golden crust forms and the meat turns opaque about 1/4 of an inch up the side.
Be careful not to overcook the fish, you still want to see a nice wide pink “ribbon” in the center of the steak when you look at it from the side.
You could also cook your fish on an outdoor grill, if you wanted to. Same principle applies: get that grill really super hot and cook the fish until it turns opaque about a quarter of an inch up the sides.
Remove the *ahem* cooked fish to a container that’s just big enough to accommodate it and then pour the reserved marinade over it.
Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate overnight. Try and flip the tuna once or twice while it’s marinating, that’ll ensure even flavoring.
When you are ready to serve your tuna, remove it from the marinade and slice it into roughly 1/4″ thick slices.
Serve it with the grapefruit supremes and garnish with a handful of green sprouts as well as a little pinch of sesame seeds; use that marinade as a dipping sauce, if you want to. Since it was never in contact with raw meat, it’s perfectly fine to use for that purpose.
And there you have it: fresh, simple, delicious! Perfect for a hot summer day!
Grapefruit Ginger Tuna Tataki
Ingredients
- 1- 1.1lb sushi grade, wild-caught yellowfin tuna steak , (about 1-1/2" thick)
- 1 pink grapefruit
- About 1 tsp healthy cooking fat
Marinade
- The juice from above grapefruit
- 3 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 green onion, minced
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Working over a bowl to collect the juice, cut the grapefruit into supremes (see post for detailed instructions); place the fruit segments in one bowl and keep the juice in a separate bowl. Place the supremes in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- To the grapefruit juice, add the minced ginger, garlic, green onion, coconut aminos, rice vinegar and salt; set aside.
- Pat the tuna steak real dry and sprinkle it on both sides with a little bit of salt. Melt a little bit of healthy cooking fat in a heavy skillet set over really high heat, and wait until the pan gets scorching hot; when that happens, carefully place the tuna in the pan and let it sear for about 1 minute per side, or until a nice golden crust forms and the meat turns opaque about 1/4" up the side. Be careful not to overcook the fish, you still want to see a nice wide pink "ribbon" in the center of the steak when you look at it from the side.
- Remove the fish to a container that's just big enough to accommodate it and pour the reserved marinade over it. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate overnight. Flip the tuna once or twice while it's marinating.
- When you are ready to serve your tuna, remove it from the marinade and slice it into roughly 1/4" thick slices.
- Serve with the grapefruit supremes; garnish with a handful of green sprouts, a pinch of sesame seeds and use marinade as a dipping sauce, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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One Comment on “Grapefruit and Ginger Tuna Tataki”
Delicioso!
Me encanta!