What do you do with a bunch of tuna that gets handed to you because a friend caught more than they could possibly eat?  That is easy, you organize a last minute dinner party to enjoy with friends.

That is exactly what a friend of mine did, and I am grateful. The coolest part about free, and plentiful, tuna is that you are less concerned about screwing it up.  So my friend suggested we just experiment and cook the tuna a few different ways.  Now that is a great idea!

The result was tuna four different ways, served with some nice sake I have been saving—and a plethora of delicious side dishes.  What started out as an informal affair turned out to be anything but.

The Entree

We had at least 6 pounds of tuna to work with for the main course.  In order to appeal to the entire group, we created a range of flavors that spanned bland to “wowza”:

Tuna #1: The bland tuna was a simple application of oil with salt and pepper.  It was … well … bland.

Tuna #2: The next step up was a coating of sesame seeds with oil, salt, and pepper.  This is a classic flavoring for tuna that appeals to just about everyone.  It is hard to go wrong with this option.

Tuna #3: This tuna was first marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, lime juice, and freshly minced ginger.  After about an hour, we removed from the marinade and coated the fish with black pepper, sea salt, and coriander seeds that were freshly ground in a mortar and pedestal.  This tuna had flavor, and everyone liked it (including those adverse to too much spice).  We also mixed up a sauce consisting of sake, wasabi, soy sauce, lime juice, and more fresh ginger.  It was tasty, but it overpowered the fish.

Tuna #4: The final tuna was more of an experiment.  We used a spice rub to coat fish that was briefly soaked in oil.  The spice consisted of ground pepper, sea salt, coriander, paprika, dry mustard, turmeric, allspice, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, ground red pepper flakes, sugar, and dried ground orange peel.  I have seen this mixture called an African Adobo rub.  This has a kick.  I personally liked this the best, but half of the group disagreed (which is why it is important to know who you are cooking for).  My reason for liking best was primarily due to my preference for the way it paired with the sake.

All four tuna dishes were seared over high heat with some canola oil.  A minute or two each side did the job.

The Sake

We drank chilled sake that I bought during a business trip in Japan.  The only name recognizable in English is Gekkeikan–I imagine that is probably the producer.  My knowledge about sake is very limited, so I’ll stick to what my taste buds told me.  The sake was a clear, clean, and light.  The most noticeable flavors were sweet pear and melon.  Despite being light (or maybe because it was light), the sake held up well with the tuna.  As mentioned, my favorite pairing was the sake with Tuna #4 (Adobo spice rub).  I think the heat of the tuna and pleasant sweetness of the sake were very complimentary.

The Sides

I can’t take any credit for the side dishes–our hosts did a fabulous job.  We enjoyed cold cucumber soup, baked sweet potatoes, Asian rice, avocado, wasabi, and an apricot/pepper salad (I can’t remember the proper name).  All very tasty.  The rounded out an excellent “informal” meal.

Dessert Wine

Keeping with the Japanese theme, our host pulled out a bottle of Japanese apricot liqueur.  This was a very nice accompaniment to some fresh fruit and cream.  Note: We wisely stayed away from the Japanese whiskey.

I encourage everyone to partake in this type of cooking experimentation–where everyone gets involved in the experiment.  In addition to learning some new flavor combination’s, it is a lot of fun and makes for a lively dinner party.