This Hawaiian glazed seared ahi tuna is full of exotic gingery soy flavors and finishes with a hint of wasabi! The ahi is seared on the outside and left deliciously raw and moist in the center!
Just a little background for anyone not familiar with the term ‘ahi’. Ahi is the Hawaiian term for yellowfin tuna, a lean meat fish with a firm texture that is found in tropical and subtropical waters.
My husband and I are always inspired by our trips to Hawaii and we love to immerse ourselves in their food and culture. Especially their food! That’s not the easiest thing to do when you are trying to stay low-carb/keto but we try our best and always find solutions one way or another.
So when we go to a restaurant in Hawaii and can’t find anything low-carb/keto, one of our go-to menu items is always the ahi tuna with a side salad because we know it’ll always be a low carb filling dish.
It was one of these ahi tuna dishes that blew me away, a soy ginger ahi with a little kick at the end. One bite and I knew I needed to try to replicate it at home!
After a few test tries and a few steaks of tuna, we came up with a new and improved ahi tuna dish that we call our Hawaiian glazed seared ahi tuna!
Just a quick note, make sure when cooking the ahi that you don’t overcook it, which results in a rubbery and dry fish. The best way to avoid this is to sear the fish quickly leaving the center raw. In steak terms, about rare to medium rare.
For this dish, the special ingredients you would need are Sesame Oil, Swerve/Monkfruit, Japanese Sake, Rice Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Wasabi Powder, Xanthan Gum and optional Toasted Sesame Seeds. All these can be picked up on Amazon and an local Asian Supermarket.
Here is the sake we normally use for reference. You can substitute the Japanese sake for Dry Sherry if needed.
Now, what are you waiting for? Let’s get cooking!
Prepping Time 10M
Marination Time 1H
Cooking Time 2M
Total Time 1H12M
Net Carb/Serving ~1g
Servings 2
Ingredients
Tuna
- 12 oz Yellowfin Tuna (about 2 steak fillets)
- 1 tbsp Neutral Oil (no taste)
- 1/2 Stalk Green Onions
- Sprinkle Toasted Sesame Seeds (optional)
Marinade
- 3 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/4 Inch Grated Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Wasabi
- 1 tsp Wasabi Powder (you can sub with packaged/tubed wasabi, but it won’t be as flavorful)
- 1/2 tsp Water
Sauce
- 1 tbsp Swerve/Monkfruit
- 1 tbsp Japanese Sake (can replace with dry sherry)
- 2 tbsp Water
- 2 tsp Rice Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/8 tsp Xanthan Gum
Directions
1) Gather all the ingredients.
2) Grate ginger with a grinder or a garter and set aside.
3) In a small mixing bowl, add grated ginger, Sesame Oil, black pepper and salt. Mix well then transfer to a zip lock bag.
4) Pat dry the ahi steak fillets and then transfer to the zip lock bag, remove any excess air and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours, flipping once halfway through.
5) Once marination is complete, mix Wasabi Powder and 1/2 tsp water and to form a paste (add another 1/4 tsp of water if paste is too dry). Once paste is formed, place the small mixing bowl upside down to bring the most out of the flavors. Note – the more you mix the Wasabi Powder, the spicier it will get. If using packet/tube wasabi, skip to next step.
6) In a small Teflon frying pan, combine Swerve/Monkfruit, Japanese Sake, water, Rice Vinegar, Soy Sauce and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 1 minute. Next, add wasabi from step 5) and Xanthan Gum, mix well until Xanthan Gum has dissolved, remove from heat and set aside.
7) Finely chop green onions and set aside.
8) Remove ahi steaks from marinade, wash off any excess liquid and pat both sides of the tuna steak dry with a paper towel.
9) In a large Teflon frying pan, add oil on high heat. Once the oil starts to lightly smoke, about 2-3 minutes, reduce heat to medium high, add tuna and cover. Cook for 30-45 seconds (~60 seconds if you prefer well medium-well) then flip and cook the other side for 30-45 seconds. Note – make sure you don’t overcook the steaks, otherwise, it’s going to be extremely tough and rubbery.
10) Transfer seared ahi steak to a serving plate, brush glaze sauce on top and finish with a sprinkle of chopped green onions and optional Toasted Sesame Seeds. Enjoy!
Hope you enjoy your low-carb/keto Hawaiian Glazed Seared Ahi Tuna!
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Hawaiian Glazed Seared Ahi Tuna
Ingredients
Tuna
- 12 oz Yellowfin Tuna about 2 steak fillets
- 1 tbsp Neutral Oil no taste
- 1/2 Stalk Green Onions
- sprinkle Toasted Sesame Seeds
Marinade
- 3 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/4 Inch Grated Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Wasabi
- 1 tsp Wasabi Powder you can sub with packaged/tubed wasabi, but it won’t be nearly as flavorful
- 1/2 tsp Water
Sauce
- 1 tbsp Swerve/Monkfruit
- 1 tbsp Japanese Sake can replace with dry sherry
- 2 tbsp Water
- 2 tsp Rice Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/8 tsp Xanthan Gum
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Grate ginger with a grinder or a garter and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, add grated ginger, Sesame Oil, black pepper and salt. Mix well then transfer to a zip lock bag.
- Pat dry the ahi steak fillets and then transfer to the zip lock bag, remove any excess air and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours, flipping once halfway through.
- Once marination is complete, mix Wasabi Powder and 1/2 tsp water and to form a paste (add another 1/4 tsp of water if paste is too dry). Once paste is formed, place the small mixing bowl upside down to bring the most out of the flavors. Note – the more you mix the Wasabi Powder, the spicier it will get. If using packet/tube wasabi, skip to next step.
- In a small Teflon frying pan, combine Swerve/Monkfruit, Japanese Sake, water, Rice Vinegar, Soy Sauce and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 1 minute. Next, add wasabi from step 5) and Xanthan Gum, mix well until Xanthan Gum has dissolved, remove from heat and set aside.
- Finely chop green onions and set aside.
- Remove ahi steaks from marinade, wash off any excess liquid and pat both sides of the tuna steak dry with a paper towel.
- In a large Teflon frying pan, add oil on high heat. Once the oil starts to lightly smoke, about 2-3 minutes, reduce heat to medium high, add tuna and cover. Cook for 30-45 seconds (~60 seconds if you prefer well medium-well) then flip and cook the other side for 30-45 seconds. Note - make sure you don't overcook the steaks, otherwise, it's going to be extremely tough and rubbery.
- Transfer seared ahi steak to a serving plate, brush glaze sauce on top and finish with a sprinkle of chopped green onions and optional toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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