Seared Ahi Tuna

I've never made seared Ahi Tuna before. I had Carl in mind when I was searching for a recipe because he LOVES seared or raw Ahi Tuna. I was thinking about the seared tuna he orders when we are on vacation in Kauai. I found a recipe that had a lot of great reviews on AllRecipes.com . I made a couple changes to the ingredients in red below. Based on the reviews I read, I decided not to coat the tuna with sesame seeds. Instead, I toasted them, then sprinkled them onto the seared tuna right before serving. I served it with a salad of mixed baby greens with Annie's Shiitake Sesame Viniagarette. It was pretty good. Carl loved it. He gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars. I gave it more like 3, but he is the Tuna lover and I trust him when he says this was GOOD. I cooked mine longer since I dont like raw tuna, but his was very rare and he said it was wonderful. Next time I make this, I will probably only use 1Tbsp of Sesame oil, since I felt like it really over powered the dipping sauce.

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin (I left this out because I didnt have any)
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
4 (6 ounce) tuna steaks
1/2 cup sesame seeds
wasabi paste
1 tablespoon olive oil (I used Peanut Oil because it is better for high heat)

In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, mirin, honey and sesame oil. Divide into two equal parts. Stir the rice vinegar into one part and set aside as a dipping sauce.

Spread the sesame seeds out on a plate. Coat the tuna steaks with the remaining soy sauce mixture, then press into the sesame seeds to coat.

Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot. Place steaks in the pan, and sear for about 30 seconds on each side. Serve with the dipping sauce and wasabi paste.