Pan-Fried Tuna with Tahini Dressing

Tahini is creamy puree of roasted sesame seeds like peanut butter. The Japanese and Korean cuisines use tahini paste very often in their dishes. The nutty flavor of the sesame seed makes wonderful and healthy dressing by combining equal parts of tahini and water. Adding some other flavor, such as garlic, ginger, and vinegar, is another way to dress up some other dishes for grilling in the summer. I created this recipe just to prove that tahini is a good choice for making a quick dinner.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz. tuna fillets
Oil for grilling
3 green onions, cut into 3 inch lengths
Chopped cilantro
Serve with steamed vegetables or caramelized onions
For the dressing
1/3 cup tahini, store-bought
1/3 cup good soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup mirin (sweet cooking wine)
1/3 cup hot water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 knob of ginger, minced, about 2 tsp

Directions:
Mix all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Wash and dry fish.
Place a nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbs of oil for each tuna. Pan-fry each side of the tuna for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour 1/4 cup of the dressing over each of the tuna fillets and let cook down for another 2 minutes.  Top each tuna with green onions and cook for 1 more minute. Remove tuna from the pan and place on a serving plate. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.