Happy Thursday, friends. I’m looking forward to closing out this work week in one short day. In the Gomez household, we have been trying to switch up some of my weeknight dinner menus lately because I can tend to make the same things on repeat. So, I created a new recipe: spicy seared tuna bowls. This is based loosely off of poke bowls, which my husband and I love. I had the idea to make my own at home.
Because they recipe involves a bit of pre-work and lots of chopping, I wouldn’t consider this a great recipe to make on those busy weeknights. It’s a great weekend recipe – or save it for an evening when you have a bit more time. It takes about 45 minutes from start to finish. (To view some of my more simple recipes, you can click here). Without further ado, here are my spicy seared tuna bowls.
Why did I chose tuna? I’m trying to incorporate more protein into my diet – and I’m guilty of sticking to the same ones. Ahi tuna packs a protein punch. So, I started with my protein and decided to go from there.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2 filets of ahi tuna (or more depending on the amount of people you are making this for)
- 1 cup quinoa (cooked)
- 1 bag of mixed salad greens
- Cucumber
- 1 diced jalapeno
- 1 bag of shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup of diced green onions
- 2 avocados (1 per bowl)
- 1 small head of red cabbage
Spicy Mayo ingredients
- 2 teaspoons of siracha
- 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Ahi tuna marinade
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoons of lite soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of toast sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
What to do: spicy seared tuna bowls
- First things first, you need to marinate your ahi for about 15 minutes (or as long as desired) before you cook. Mix together the honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper and pour it over your tuna steaks to marinate them.
- While they are marinating, it’s a great time to get that quinoa going. I use a rice steamer that my mother-in-law purchased for me, and it takes about 10 minutes to cook. So, I always just pop my quinoa in there, press go, and it’s ready in 10 minutes.
- While your quinoa is cooking, I always try to prep all my veggies. I chop my avocado, red cabbage, cucumbers, jalapeño and green onions to I have them ready to assemble once the tuna is done cooking.
- After you’ve marinated your tuna steaks for the desired amount of time, heat a non-stick cooking skillet for about 3-5 minutes over medium to high heat. You want your pan hot. Then, I pour one tablespoon olive oil and set my tuna in the pan.
- Cook each side of the tuna for 2 minutes. That gives you a good sear on the outside – and not a ton of pink in the middle. I’ve made this recipe twice now, and I erred on the side of cooking them longer the first time I made them. It’s personal preference.
- Once they are done cooking on each side for two minutes, remove from heat, and let them rest for about five minutes. Then, slice your tuna into thin slices, and you can begin assembling your spicy tuna bowls.
- I always start with a base of quinoa, add the mixed greens, add my desired toppings and put the slice tuna on the top.
- Next, I make my spicy mayo, which takes less than two minutes to throw together. I add in my sriracha and mayo – until I have a good consistency, and I top my bowls with that.
This spicy seared tuna bowl recipe is a huge hit with Aaron and I (*pats self on back*), and it makes me feel like a semi-real chef (of which I am definitely not). And while it takes a bit longer than some of the other recipes I make, it will be a great meal to throw into our weekend rotation.
Happy Thursday all!!!!
