Ahi Tuna Appetizer with Wasabi Glaze

This Ahi Tuna Appetizer is as delicious as it is pretty. Drizzled with a sweet and spicy wasabi glaze, these beautiful bites can be made within 20 minutes and you can even do it a day ahead!

If you've love seared ahi tuna, this gorgeous, delicious and impressive recipe will make you, and everyone you serve it to very happy.

While it might look fancy-ish, the prep is fairly quick and easy, and yes, you can even make it a day ahead of time.

When I had my catering business, this this bite-sized Ahi Tuna Appetizer was one of the most popular things on my menus -- especially for cocktail parties. And it's also lovely for a small dinner party.

You can totally do this!

Jump to:

• Just a Few Ingredients
• How to Make it
• Variations
• Recipe Tips
• Serving Suggestions
• Making it Ahead
• More Ahi Tuna Appetizers
• Ahi Tuna Appetizer Recipe

Just a Few Ingredients

• wasabi paste - Like ginger, wasabi is a rhizome, not a root. Authentic wasabi is served freshly grated, very expensive and hard to find outside of Japan. Wasabi paste, which is sold in most grocery stores, is typically a combination of horseradish, mustard powder and green food coloring.
• soy sauce - Ideally low-sodium. Tamari is the best substitute. It's slightly thicker and richer than regular soy sauce, and it's usually gluten-free. You can also find low-sodium Tamari.
• unsalted butter - A little butter is added to the wasabi glaze, which makes it shine and gives it a silky-smooth, rich texture. If you need to substitute the butter, you can use a combination of a light miso paste and neutral oil. You can even just drizzle straight up soy sauce on top, and frankly, this ahi tuna appetizer is really tasty without anything other than salt, pepper and the caramelization from searing it.
• honey
• sushi grade Ahi tuna - “Sushi-grade” is a term given to fish when it’s safe to prepare and eat raw. In this recipe we're only searing the fish, which means we're only cooking the outer edges. Whenever you're planning to serve fish raw, or partially raw, always ask the fish monger if it's sushi grade. Depending on where you live, it shouldn't be too difficult to find. If your local Farmers' Market sells fish, it's often a great place to find it. This is a good article about sushi grade fish and how to choose it.
• neutral oil - Like avocado, grapeseed or vegetable.
• fresh chives - Choose dark green perky bunches of chives.

(See recipe card below for quantities.)

How to Make it

- Melt the butter in a very small sauté pan over low heat. Add the wasabi, soy sauce and honey. Gently whisk until it's smooth and then remove it from the heat and set it aside.

- Cut the Ahi fillet into approximately 1-inch strips and season with salt and pepper on all sides.

- Coat the bottom of a large (preferably non-stick) skillet with a thin layer of oil and place it over high heat. Once the pan is very hot, add the Ahi tuna strips and sear all of the sides. (If you don't hear a sizzling sound when the tuna hits the pan, it's not hot enough.)

- Only cook it through a bit, about ⅛-inch, probably about 10-15 seconds per side. Use small tongs to turn them. Remove them from the pan as soon as they’re done and place them on a plate or sheet pan. Do this in two batches so you don't crowd the pan.

- Once they're cool enough to handle, slice them into approximately 1-inch squares.

- Drizzle the wasabi glaze over them, add a toothpick to each one and serve. (If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, warm it slightly.)

- Garnish with finely chopped chives.

Variations

• Mild version. While wasabi is quite spicy and pungent, the glaze is mellowed with the honey, soy sauce and butter. If it's still a bit to hot for you, you can modify the amount of wasabi paste -- use as much or as little as you'd like.
• Make it into a main course. You can also make this as an entrée. Sear (or cook a bit more if desired), ahi steaks -- about 5-ounces per person -- and drizzle the wasabi glaze over them.
• Make a salad with the tuna. With our without the glaze, sans toothpicks (of course), add the seared tuna cubes to a salad. I love it with butter lettuce, cilantro, edamame, avocado and red onion. You can even make the glaze into a dressing by thinning it with rice vinegar. (You can also use it in these Nicoise Salad Cups.)

Recipe Tips

• The easiest way to cut the Ahi so that is will slice evenly and beautifully, is to partially freeze it first.
• Be generous with the black pepper. Ahi tuna loves pepper. 😉
• To get a nice sear on the fish, it's imperative that your pan is preheated and hot before you add the tuna. You should hear a strong sizzling sound when it hits the pan. If you don't, wait until you do.
• If you're serving a large group and don't know everyone's taste for heat, you might want to serve the glaze in a little bowl for dipping, rather than drizzling it on top.
• When shopping for the Ahi tuna, please note that you'll see a variety of colors. Those that are a bright watermelon red have typically been treated with carbon monoxide during processing. It's not unsafe to eat tuna that's been treated with it, though it often makes it difficult to notice visual cues of freshness.

Serving Suggestions

• For a small dinner party, there are a handful of dishes I especially love to follow the ahi tuna appetizer with. My top two picks are Pickled Ginger Citrus Salad with Wasabi Dressing and Miso Broiled Black Cod with Bok Choy Stir-Fry.
• It's also delicious with Minty Tofu Noodles, Spicy Asian Slaw with Basil and Baby Bok Choy with Crispy Garlic.
• And if you're having a cocktail party, it's excellent served alongside Cucumber Dill Canapés, Vegetarian Sushi Bake and Spicy Pickled Cucumbers.

Making it Ahead

Good news! You can sear the tuna and make the glaze a day ahead of time.

• To make the glaze a day ahead: Leave it in the little pan where you made it, cover with foil and leave it at room temperature.
• To sear the tuna a day ahead: Once seared, let the tuna in strips (see images below) cool completely, and then store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
• Leave yourself a little time the next day, before serving, to slice the seared ahi tuna strips, drizzle the glaze and add toothpicks. (If the sauce is too thick to drizzle, warm it slightly.)

More Ahi Tuna Appetizers

• Poke Nachos
• Ahi Tuna Tartare with Ginger
• Spicy Tuna Wonton Cups

* And if you love this recipe, you will absolutely love my Sesame-Crusted Ahi Tuna Burger.

I hope you'll give this appetizer a go.

Enjoy every last bite of this Seared Ahi Tuna Appetizer recipe!

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