First posted: Jan 20, 2011
BBQ Seared Tuna, All the way from Papua New Guinea
We spent Christmas in Australia with Rob’s family which we loved, but more relevant for this post is that we also managed to include a hop skip across to the very intriguing island of Papua New Guinea en route, as Rob’s parents are currently living and working there. I have no idea how you put PNG in a box – suffice to say that I think you just can’t, but IF I were to venture an attempt, it would go something along the lines of ‘a cross between Uganda and Jurassic Park…’. And that’s kind of hits the nail on the head really. It has a very tropical, mountainous, rural 3rd world feel like some parts further north of us in Africa, but then definitely has an island vibe going on as well, given that it makes up the other half of the main island of Indonesia just north of Australia.
Papua New Guinea still operates largely on tribal social structures, especially in the more rural mountain regions, and actually only officially abolished cannibalism about 20 years ago! They also have the most intriguing, and often hilarious, local pidgin dialect, which is kind of a bastardised English that often makes your toes squiggle with it’s idiosyncrasies. So, as you can imagine, never a dull moment on this island! And never a shortage of fresh fish to eat either. The second night we were there, Rob’s Dad, Al Graham (Ali G as he’s fondly known to Rob’s mates) happily cooked up gorgeous straight-out-of-the-ocean seared tuna steaks for us. Here’s how…
Ingredients
Cooks in: Serves:4
- 4-6 palm-sized fresh tuna fillets, about 2-2.5cm thick
- A handful of fresh coriander
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt and pepper
- Optional: 1 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
What to do
1. Baste the tuna with the marinade and set aside 2. Heat the BBQ, or pre-heat a good quality pan on the stove, without any oil 3. Sear the tuna for 2-3 minutes on each side so that it remains deliciously rosy in the middle 4. Serve garnished with chopped fresh coriander Side Dishes *You could just as easily use fresh salmon.
Rob's Mum served this with simple green beans and boiled potatoes with a generous sprinkling of fresh dill, salt, pepper and a dollop of butter - perfect, and they take nothing away from the real prize of the tuna steaks.
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