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!
Made this last night per the recipe and it was absolutely fantastic! I guess almost per the recipe, I had the scallions all sliced up but forgot to use them at the end. Used Kewpie mayo which I think added to the sweetness of the volcano sauce. Used all the recommended chili garlic sauce, and next time will add more spice, probably dried chili powder. This was better than any tuna I’ve had in a restaurant!
I made this teriyaki tuna tonight and it was fabulous!!! I made the asian cucumber salad along with it, also great! I will be repeating this meal again for sure!
This is my go to for tuna. I dust with granulated garlic and the sesame seeds. I serve the entire tuna steak with a splash of teriyaki, a drizzle of spicy mayo and chopped green onion. Veggie is sesame ginger green beans & peas. So quick & delicious.
So glad you love it!