Pacific Rim Bluefin with Green Beans

July 26th, 2012 | Family Dinner, From the Sea | 0 Comments

My father-in-law and husband are avid fishermen and they used to bring home loads and loads of fresh albacore, yellowtail and dorado...so much so that I was running low on prep ideas and getting sick of having fish so often.

That all changed about three years ago when they would go out for days at a time, week after week, with absolutely not one fish caught. It was like there was a dark cloud over them for the last three years {we were beginning to question their skillset} so when Grandpa came home on Sunday with a cooler full of fish, the whole family was over the moon! Grandpa caught three "first fish" flags for his various fishing clubs and the girls wouldn't have to listen to all of the trials and tribulations of the exhausting, non-fruitful trips out to sea!

Anytime we get fresh bluefin, I like to serve it barely seared, almost sashimi style with some white rice and a little bit of soy-based sauce. If you are buying your fish from the market, be sure and ask what day it was caught. You want really fresh fish for this preparation {no more than 2-3 days}. If you aren't a fan of sushi, cook your fish a couple of minutes longer on each side, it'll still be fantastic!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs bluefin tuna steaks
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin {Japanese cooking wine}
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 lb fresh, cleaned green beans
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons sesame oil
Garnish with chopped cilantro or toasted sesame seeds {or both}

Directions:

In a small glass bowl, combine soy sauce, mirin, garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper.

Place tuna steaks and marinade into a large glass bowl and allow to marinate for 20 minutes.

Cook green beans in boiling water for about 5-6 minutes and then transfer to an ice bath {or run cold water over them until they cool down} and then set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add sesame oil. Transfer tuna steaks to a plate, reserving marinade, and sprinkle steaks liberally with black pepper.

When sesame oil is hot, add tuna steaks and let them sear for about 2-4 minutes per side, depending on how rare you prefer your fish.

Remove fish from skillet and set aside.

Reduce heat to low and add green beans to the skillet. Whisk in brown sugar to the reserved marinade and then add it to the green beans, stirring occasionally for about 2-3 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken.

Remove green beans from heat and serve alongside fish. Drizzle the remaining sauce from the skillet over the fish. This dish goes great with some plain white or jasmine rice. If you know your fish is super fresh, try it just barely seared {like hubby did below}.