Ginger-chilli Tuna with Asian Plum Sauce
In this tasty Asian-inspired recipe, South African plums are made into a spicy sauce to accompany tuna steaks cooked with toasted sesame oil, ginger, red chilli and garlic – and a few more South African plums for good measure!
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 30 minutes
Serves: 2
1tbsp toasted sesame oil or vegetable oil
2 fresh tuna steaks (or thawed frozen ones)
6 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
2cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small garlic clove, thinly sliced
4 South African plums, pitted and thinly sliced
2 heads of pak choi, roughly chopped
Few drops soy sauce and/or fish sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lime wedges and sesame seeds, to garnish
Plum Sauce:
300g South African plums, pitted and chopped
I small red onion, chopped
2tbsp soy sauce
100ml rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
150g caster sugar
2 star anise
Method
First of all, make the plum sauce. Put all the ingredients into a saucepan and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the plums are very soft. Remove the star anise, then blend the ingredients together to make a smooth sauce. Keep a sterilised bottle and refrigerate.
Heat the sesame or vegetable oil in a large frying pan or wok and add the tuna steaks, cooking them for 1-2 minutes per side, or according to your preference. Remove and cover with foil to rest for 5 minutes while you make the stir fry.
Add the spring onions, chilli, ginger and garlic to the frying pan or wok with the plums and pak choi. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, season with a few drops of soy sauce and/or fish sauce and a little salt and pepper, then transfer to warm plates with the tuna steaks. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with the plum sauce. Serve, garnished with lime wedges.
Cook’s tip: Remember to keep the plum sauce chilled and use within 4 weeks of making.
