Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna with Cucumber Salad

Matt took me on our fist date in January of 2007.  We went to a restaurant called The Lighthouse right by Sanibel Island.  I ordered a glass of red wine.  He ordered pineapple juice and vanilla vodka... I kid you not. After he ordered his drink and certainly saw the look of shock on my face, he coyly turned to me and said, "What?  It's Paris Hilton's favorite drink!  And it's delicious!". I was smitten.  

This dish reminds me of our first date because I ordered seared ahi tuna, raw.  It was delightful.  It was so good that I INSISTED that Matt try a bite.  After a bit of persuasion, he tried a piece and told me he liked it.  Fast forward to after we had been dating a few months... I ordered raw ahi tuna at another restaurant and tried to make Matt taste it again.   His response... "Hell no!".  He told me that he absolutely hated it and when I made him eat it on our first date, he felt like he was on Fear Factor (like I was making him eat bull testicles or something like that).  

When I think back to that first date, it makes me smile because I now realize how difficult it was for him to take that bite.  But he did.  Because he wanted to impress me.  Now we are going on almost 5 years of marriage and to this day, he has never eaten another bite of raw tuna.  But I still love it so on to this fabulous recipe... 

Mix up the vinaigrette for the cucumber salad first and set aside. 

Fresh veggies for the salad.  Add the vinaigrette right before serving so the veggies don't get too soggy.  

There will be two sauces to serve with the tuna.  This is the sriracha remoulade.  

This is the reduced soy-honey glaze.  

Aren't the black and white sesame seeds pretty?

 The seeds stick beautifully to the raw tuna.  From here, you sear all sides in a pan with a little coconut oil and let rest for 5 minutes.  

Cucumber Salad
1/2 cucumber, sliced thin
1 carrot, grated
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped

Soy Vinaigrette
1 T. low sodium soy sauce
2 T. rice wine vinegar 
1 T. honey
2 T. coconut or grape seed oil

Prepare vegetables.  Mix soy sauce, vinegar and honey together.  Slowly drizzle in oil and whisk until combined.  Pour over cucumber mixture about 5 minutes before serving.  

Soy-Honey Glaze
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 t. fish sauce
2 T honey

Heat in a small saucepan over medium high heat and reduce until it forms a thick glaze.  Set aside.  

Sriracha Remoulade
1/2 c. light mayo
1 t. sriracha 
1 t. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 t. fish sauce
1/4 t. sesame oil
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 lime, juiced

Whisk all ingredients together.  Let sit a room temperature until ready to serve.  

Seared Tuna
1/2 lb. ahi tuna
3 T. white sesame seeds
3 T. black sesame seeds
1 T. coconut oil

Preheat coconut oil in a saute pan over medium high heat.  In a deep plate, mix both black and white sesame seeds together. Roll tuna in seeds and pat to set.  Place in pan and sear on all sides.  Be sure to check so the seeds do not burn.  Once all sides have been seared, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Slice tuna and serve with sriracha remoulade and soy-honey glaze drizzled over the top and cucumber salad on side.  Garnish with scallions or cilantro.