This is one of my favorite meals to make during Lent. I am not Catholic, but much of my family and my husband's family is, so we practice not eating meat (except fish) on Fridays. As I am not cooking this tonight, I wont be posting pictures until the next time I make it unfortunately, but feel free to ask me questions if something isn't clear enough!
Remember all my kitchen lecture from the duck recipe and tips from the last blog post!! Yes? Good. No? Go read them. I expect you to use and practice them.
*NOTE* Read this Recipe in its ENTIRETY before beginning because time management can be difficult!
Let's get started!
Serving Size 3-5 people (depending on if men or women are eating and appetites)
What tools you'll need:
Broiler pan
Tongs
Whisk (size doesn't matter here, but tiny ones are very hard to use)
Medium or Large Pot (for the marinade)
Brownie Pan or large pot or casserole or anything that'll work (large and deep enough for the tuna steaks and sauce... you'll understand in time)
Space in your refrigerator for the above pan/pot
Sauce Pan and cover for Rice
Grater
Juicer for Limes (if you want, you can sub lime juice from the store)
Garlic Mincer (if you have one)
Mixing Spoon for rice (I use wooden)
Bowl for steaming Asparagus, Stove steamer, Vegetable steamer (if desired... I use steam in bag as they're usually out of season and good quality is hard to find in my area)
OVEN MITTS
(Apron if desired)
What ingredients you'll need:
Ahi Tuna Steaks (Fresh or Frozen, if frozen make sure they are in clear packaging so you can see that they are PINK and not GREY) how many you'll need depends on number of diners, and appetites. My brother-in-law and I can only eat one whereas my husband can easily eat two. For 2 people, I'd make 3 unless you're sure you'll both be satisfied with 1 a piece, for 3 people I would get 4 just in case, they are very simple to split and share.
Marinade (enough for up to 4-5 steaks):
1/4 c. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil if you don't fangirl Rachael Ray.)
2 tbsp Rice Vinegar (You can find this in the oriental foods section of your grocery store... took me 25 minutes to find.)
2 Juiced Limes or 4 tbsp (I usually use 6 hehe)
2 cloves Garlic (for Garlic Press if you have one, if not sub one tbsp pre minced garlic that you can buy at the grocery.)
1 tbsp Grated FRESH Ginger (just get a piece of ginger a little smaller than your thumb)
Salt (I use Sea Salt) & Pepper to taste
1/4 c.- 1 "bear" of Honey (depends on how much you like honey... I use an entire bear)
Coconut Rice:
2 c. Jasmine Rice (a small bag will do if you don't have a health food section where you can buy the exact amount you need.)
2 cans Coconut MILK (also found in the oriental section)
1 3/4 c. Water
1-2 tbsp Coconut Oil (or Vegetable oil if you don't want to invest... my oil hair mask can be done with coconut oil!)
Salt to taste
Asparagus:
Fresh Asparagus or
Frozen Asparagus or
Steam in bag Asparagus
(I use steam in bag so this one you have to time manage yourselves, sorry!)
Let's get down to business!
If you're using fresh tuna steaks, keep them in the fridge, no worries, if they're frozen, take care of those first. They thaw quickly, but it's still important. How they are packaged requires the package to be punctured prior to defrosting. If you have time, bring them from the freezer the night before, if you're doing it the day of, 10-20 minutes before you get started, puncture them and soak them in warm water for just a bit. It won't take long and if they are still a little cold or frosty when the marinade is done you can run them under warm water for a few seconds then let them thaw as they marinade.
Just Prior to the Marinade:
Turn your Oven on to Broil (High) and put the Broiler pan into the oven.
Now the marinade.
Place the pot on a burner on low to low-medium heat (3-4) Mix the EVOO, rice vinegar, lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper in the pot with your whisk. (Now, if you aren't experienced enough or confident enough to know how much salt or pepper to use, wait until you are ready to add the steaks and LIGHTLY salt and pepper the steaks before putting them in the marinading dish.) Next, grind the ginger straight into the mixing bowl, I don't bother to measure, it's just a marinade. Mix it up again then add the honey a little at a time to make the mixing go easier. Whisk the mixture until its as smooth as possible.
Remove the Tuna Steaks from defrosting or the fridge. Here is where you would salt them and pepper them if you didn't add that to the marinade. Place the steaks in the marinading dish you've selected and pour marinade over the steaks until they are approximately half covered. Move marinading steaks to the refrigerator. Place the extra marinade in the pot back on the burner and reduce heat to low mixing occasionally.
Let the steaks marinade for 15 minutes, flip with tongs, then marinade for another 15 minutes (still in the fridge.)
The rice:
You'll want to begin this some time during the marinade because the broiling process is quite hectic... be prepared!
Grease the pot (sides and bottom) with the oil to help prevent the rice from sticking to the pot and burning.
Add Water, Coconut Milk, and 2 c. Jasmine Rice to the pot and mix it all together.
Place on a burner and set to medium-high to high heat (7-9) stirring occasionally to prevent the sticking and burning I mentioned.
When the Milk-Water hits the infantile stages of boiling (bubbling up lightly) turn down the heat to just below low (1-1.5) and put the lid on the pot (make sure its the correct lid for the pot, the rice doesn't turn out right if you use one too big) and let the rice simmer for 15-20 minutes (generally takes 20 for me, but every stove is different (mine's electric.... I can hard'y boil water on a gas stove.)
To check doneness, fluff with a fork to make sure liquid is absorbed, if it is, you can taste test. If you feel it needs salt, here's where to add it. I generally don't I either squirt a bit of lime juice on it or some marinade to it and it literally tastes like candy. It is fabulous. If the rice is done "too soon" no worries! Set the burner to low, keep the lid on and it will keep perfectly until you are done.
Asparagus:
Steam in bag, follow instructions on bag! Anything else, you're on your own! Why? Because I don't have a nifty steaming trick for the stove that I've tried out yet while cooking a meal that I'm willing to promote as a good way to cook it and because good asparagus is impossible to find where I live. I generally make my steam in bag after the steaks are done cooking.
Broiling the Steaks:
You will need your timer on the ready, your oven mitt and tongs on hand, zero distractions and ice in your veins because these steaks may very well fall apart as you're turning them and you need to keep a cool head, soldier up, and keep moving, get all the steaks turned, including the broken piece(s).
But really it's not THAT hard.
By the time the steaks are done marinading, the broiler is ready for them, pull out the rack that has the pan on it and either have someone hold the marinading dish for you or carefully but quickly transfer them from the counter to the pan with a hand under the steak so it doesn't fall to the floor place them on the pan, it doesn't matter where as long as you'll be able to flip them when the time comes. When you've got the fillets set and the oven closed, set the timer. (I like mine rare-medium to medium so I do 2 minutes per side, if you want medium, do 2.5 minutes, if you want medium well which I DO NOT recommend for tuna, 3 minutes) So if you want the perfect buttery honey sweet falls apart and melts in your mouth... set the timer for 2.... (it is completely safe to eat red tuna)
Sorry, got off track, the timer goes off, have your oven mitt and tongs ready so you can flip the steaks as quickly as possible, then reset the timer for the same time as round one. When it goes off again have both mitts and your tongs off to the side, take the broiler pan out of the oven, place it onto the stove (cool burners) or, if you have them, iron placemates (the word is escaping me) for holding hot items off the stove. Then quickly transfer them to the dinner plates.
Start the Asparagus if you haven't already and serve the rice when you serve the Asparagus. Give the warm marinade a stir and spoon a bit onto each steak and onto the rice (and/or asparagus) if the diner so chooses to add a sweet and tangy flavor to the rest of the meal. I prefer my asparagus plain and my rice is wonderful alone, with rice, or even with the marinade!
The tuna will not be difficult to cut at all, a fork should be just fine, otherwise a butter knife will be sufficient.
Bon Appetit!
-xoxo The Sorority Housewife
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