Seared Tuna Steak with Daikon Dressing

I almost cried when I had my first bite of this Seared Tuna Steak with Daikon Dressing from the Japanese Light cookbook by Kimiko Barber. I used sushi-grade tuna and I think that was key because I love my tuna rare. The marinade is so simple and really compliments the natural flavors of the tuna. I'm definitely going to have to make this for my mother the next time she comes down to Florida to visit me because I know she will love it too.

I made a few changes to the recipe in the book: I used sesame oil instead of vegetable oil and I omitted the arugula because I could not find any at the grocery store. The daikon called for in the recipe I found at an Asian grocer and I didn't even look at my local store so I am not sure if it is widely available or not.

Seared Tuna Steak with Daikon Dressing 4 tuna steaks, each weighing about 4 ounces and cut 1 1/4-inches thick 1 tablespoon vegetable oil handful of arugula leaves 8 chives, finely chopped for the marinade 1/3 cup soy sauce 3 tablespoons sake 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 garlic clove, minced for the daikon dressing 1/4 cup grated daikon (Japanese white radish) 1/4 cup soy sauce 4 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions:
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together for the marinade. Add the tuna steaks and let sit for at least thirty minutes. Turn tuna steaks once or twice.

While the tuna is marinading, mix all of the ingredients together for the daikon dressing in a small bowl.

Remove the tuna from the marinade the pat dry with paper towels. Brush one side of the tuna with half of the oil.

Heat a griddle pan or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Make sure pan gets very hot before adding the tuna. Cook tuna for two minutes and brush the raw side of the tuna with the other half of the oil while cooking. After two minutes turn over and cook for another two minutes. (Tuna will be rare. If you like it more well done you can cook the second side up to five minutes.)

Transfer steaks to a cutting board and slice. Arrange slices on serving plates. Spoon dressing over tuna slices and top of a few arugula leaves. Garnish with chopped chives.