There are multiple tuna recipes out there, but this one will give you spice, crunch and the delicious flavor of teriyaki and the heat of volcano sauce. What more can you ask for?!
Teriyaki Tuna
As a quick and easy meal, this sesame crusted tuna can be made any day of the week. The prep is literally just 10 minutes and cook time is only 3-4 minutes.
My husband and I love tuna steaks and often struggle with new ways to prepare them. Sure you can sear them with a little sesame oil and serve them with a side of soy sauce for a quick meal, but that gets boring.
Now teriyaki tuna is one of the most frequent tuna recipes in my house. It is just too easy to make and is accompanied with so flavor!
Teriyaki & Volcano Sauce
For this creation I wanted to combine sweet with spicy. I used a teriyaki glaze traditionally used for salmon paired with a creamy volcano sauce inspired by spicy tuna sushi.
Lynn says: “OH.MY.HEAVENS! This is delicious. We have several Tuna lovers in the family, so this is a welcomed dish. Thanks for the recipe.”
Sesame seeds offer a crunchy contrast in texture and additional flavor. You can use traditional pale tan kind, black sesame seeds or a combination of both.
Honestly, there isn’t a reason to season the tuna beyond that.
Health Benefits of Tuna
Fish is good for you and ahi tuna is great for certain thing. It’s high in protein, vitamin D, potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, and minerals.
Ahi tuna has some great health benefits but like everything else you should limit how much you consume it. It has a higher mercury level than other kinds of tuna so limiting how much you eat in a month is a good idea.
Justine says: “This was actually so good! Simple to make and had great flavor!”
Ingredients
Most of these ingredients are pretty simple. They can all be found at your local grocery store.
- Teriyaki sauce – It’s super easy to just buy a bottle at your local grocery store, but you can also make homemade teriyaki sauce if you’re feeling fancy.
- Ahi tuna steaks – You can usually walk up to the meat and seafood counter at you grocery store and they can cut some for you.
- Sesame seeds – I like to use a combination of white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds. They provide a nice contrast and look pretty too.
- Vegetable oil – I like to use vegetable oil to sear tuna steaks, but you could also use olive oil or canola oil if you’d prefer to.
- Mayonnaise – This will be the base for our volcano sauce. You can certainly use store bought mayo, or you could even make your own at home.
- Chili garlic sauce – This sauce is similar to sriracha, it’s just slightly thicker and chunkier in texture. You can find it down the international aisle.
- Sweetened condensed milk – This is what gives our volcano sauce it’s creamy texture.
- Sugar – In addition to the sweetness from the condensed milk, we need a little more. And plain white sugar will do just fine. You could also use brown sugar for a different flavor.
- Scallions – Also known as green onions, we use these as a garnish. I like the color contrast and flavor they add, but you can certainly leave them off if you’d like to. Cut them diagonally to make them extra fancy.
How to Make Teriyaki Tuna
Although sometimes intimidating to make at home, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy these tuna steaks are to make at home.
- Make volcano sauce. Using a small food processor or immersion blender, combine mayonnaise, chili garlic sauce, sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Add chili garlic sauce slowly until you reached your desired heat.
- Coat tuna steaks in sesame seeds. Combine white and black sesame seeds in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge both sides of the tuna steaks in sesame seeds. Set aside.
- Heat oil in pan. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or large frying pan over high heat.
- Sear tuna steaks. When vegetable oil is hot, place tuna steaks in the pan, cover. Cook on each side depending on desired temperature. It all depends on the thickness of your tuna steak.
- Top with teriyaki sauce. Remove tuna steaks from frying pan/cast iron skillet. Plate and top with teriyaki glaze.
- Add volcano sauce. There are two choices for the volcano sauce. You can put a dollop on the side, allowing individuals to dip according to their tastes OR you can put the volcano sauce into an airtight plastic bag and cut a small hole on one bottom corner and then pipe the sauce onto teriyaki tuna steaks.
- Add garnish. Garnish with scallions.
How to Serve Teriyaki Tuna
The serving options for this tuna recipe are really endless! I like to serve mine with a starch like white rice or egg noodles. They also pair really well with the teriyaki sauce.
If you’d like to add some veggies to your meal, saute some bell pepper and onion in vegetable oil and teriyaki sauce. You can also serve with a fabulous side dish like Baby Bok Choy.
Tips and Tricks
While each tuna recipe will be slightly different, here are some tips and tricks to ensure you’re cooking your tuna properly.
- Wash your tuna steaks before you start with clean water to get off all the scales and dirt.
- Use a paper towel to soak up all the water from the tuna before cooking.
- If your tuna is fresh then it can be eaten rare or medium rare with a little pink in the middle.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes for rare and 2-3 minutes for medium rare.
- Sear for the same amount of time on both sides for even cooking.
- Using a marinade helps add flavor and extra moisture to your tuna.
- If you’re using frozen tuna steaks, cook all the way through to the middle with no pink to avoid getting sick from food poisoning.
Storage and Freezing
Storage: You can store any leftover teriyaki tuna in an airtight container or large resealable plastic bag. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Freezing: You can also store leftovers in the freezer as well. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.
More Easy Seafood Recipes
Salmon Poke Bowls
Seafood Mac and Cheese
Want to learn more about tuna? I learned an incredible amount of information from my trip to Japan and discussion with a famous sushi chef. Check it out HERE!
Teriyaki Tuna Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Teriyaki Tuna:
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 4 ahi tuna steaks
- 3 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 3 tablespoons black sesame seeds
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Volcano Sauce:
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
- 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Garnish:
- 1 bunch scallions , sliced diagonally
Instructions
For volcano sauce:
- Using a small food processor or immersion blender, combine mayonnaise, chili garlic sauce, sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Depending on your tastes for walking on the spicy side, add chili garlic sauce slowly until you reached your desired heat. Set aside.
- Combine white and black sesame seeds in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge both sides of the tuna steaks in sesame seeds. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet or large frying pan over high heat.
- The name of the game is to sear, which means high heat, spitting oil and in my house, the smoke detector going off, so prepare your work space accordingly.
- When vegetable oil is hot, place tuna steaks in the pan, cover. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes depending on desired temperature. Two to three minutes will be a medium rare for a 1 1/2 inch tuna steak. I like mine rare, so I go for 1-2 minutes on each side. It all depends on the thickness of your tuna steak.
- Remove tuna steaks from frying pan/cast iron skillet. Plate and top with teriyaki glaze.
- There are two choices for the volcano sauce. You can put a dollop on the side, allowing individuals to dip according to their tastes OR you can put the volcano sauce into an airtight plastic bag and cut a small hole on one bottom corner and then pipe the sauce onto teriyaki tuna steaks.
- Garnish with scallions.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
My Fiancé recently went on a tuna fishing trip and came back with a pretty large amount of tuna. Due to how late he returned we didn’t use any until the next day. I have never had fresh caught tuna before, and expected it to be pretty fishy tasting. I was very wrong, no fishy taste at all. I used this recipe to make it and we loved it!! It was easy, quick, & delicious!! I served it with Toasted pine nut couscous and broccoli. I froze the remaining tuna and made this delicious recipe with the tuna steaks again!! Thank you for sharing!!!😊🤤
Just want you to know I still make this on a regular basis! It is so tasty and so quick and SO easy to keep it low carb! Tonight it will be thin sliced on a coleslaw base (undressed) with avocado and cucumber. Teriyaki sauce on top and Volcano Sauce as dressing.
Yay!!!! We love hearing that and thank you for coming back to let us know!
Loved this recipe! Made it for myself and liked it so much, I’m doing it again a week later for friends.
Yay! Thanks for coming back to let us know!
So good and easy! I will definitely eat this again! I paired the tuna with a green goddess power bowl by healthy choice, avocados and sliced radish.
Thanks for coming back to let us know, Jessica. We are so thankful!
I made this again and served the tuna sliced thin on a salad. Drizzled the teriyaki on the tuna and used the volcano sauce as a salad dressing.
Nice! Delicious on a salad!
This was one of the most amazing tuna recipes I’ve ever made. So delicious. And so easy. Thank you.
This was fabulous. Couldn’t find black sesame seeds in my small town so I used just regular ones. Made a keto teriyaki to make this all keto. My steaks must have been thinner. I would have preferred them a little less done. Next time I will stick to a minute a side. I served them whole – less work for me. My husband raved about them. This recipe is definitely a “keeper”.
Thank you, Claudia!
I didn’t have any Teryaki so I used an Orange Ginger marinade and Holy Cow was it good. Also, for those of us who cheat because we are so busy, Hidden Valley Spicey Ranch Secret Sauce is just as good as the Volcano sauce. Just letting you know.
Thank you, Pamela- glad you loved it 🙂
That sauce is fantastic!!!
Awesome! Thank you Effie! That was my grandmother’s name 🙂
Do I need to use ahi tuna Steaks? Or can I use a different kind of tuna steak?
You can use any type of tuna steak.