Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Seared Ahi Salad


Here in Hawaii we are blessed to have a fantastic selection of top quality fish. Yellow fin tuna Ahi as it is known here is a extremely versatile fish. Ahi is easily identified by its red color that looks like red meat. The fish gets this color from a large amount of myoglobin in its muscles that is used to help it swim for long periods of time. Ahi is also frequently treated with carbon monoxide to preserve its color. Carbon monoxide will make the fish flesh stay red but does not in away way help keep the fish fresh. Ahi treated with carbon monoxide has very bright color and will not turn brown even if its spoiled. So get your fish fresh from a reputable fish monger or better yet catch it yourself!


Here is some fresh Ahi caught by a friend of mine that I turned into a salad after we had had our fill of sashimi and poke. It's very very easy, has a nice presentation and is delicious!



Take your Ahi and season it with your favorite seasoning, I used cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper for this. Let the fish come to room temp for a few minutes and slap it in a lightly oiled pan or on a hot grill, I like to give it a quick oiling with some high temp spray oil on the fish and pan or grill. Then sear it! Sear it in a very hot pan quickly on each side unitl it has browned nicely. Do it fast, the fish will keep cooking with the carry over heat for a few minutes.


Put together a quick salad, dress it with anything your heart desires and there you go. A delicious salad. This whole meal took exactly 7 mintues including all the prep and making a quick salad dressing.