Grilled Tuna with Ginger Rice and Wasabi-Ginger Sauce

When we were growing up, "tuna" always meant Charly in a can. Nowadays, you can get good Shashimi-grade tuna steaks at the corner grocery store almost any day of the week. This is a simple summer recipe that can be finished in an hour or less. The aromatic sweetness of the ginger rice (Kathy's original recipe) nicely complements the grilled tuna and the piquant reduction sauce.


Tuna:
1 Pound fresh Shashimi-grade tuna steak
1/4 Cup tamari or soy sauce
1 Tbl olive oil
1 Pinch sea salt
Course ground black pepper
Lightly salt tuna on both sides, then pat black pepper onto the steaks. Marinate in soy sauce and oil for 15 minutes, turning once. Grill on a cast iron grill or over very hot charcoal until tuna is medium-rare. Don't overcook! To serve, slice on a bias with a sharp knife.
Rice:
3 Tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 Cup uncooked Jasmine rice
2 Cups water
Dash sea salt
2 Tablespoons Chopped preserved ginger in syrup (available at specialty foods shops and some supermarkets)
Boil water and add salt. Rinse rice in cold running water until water runs clear, add rinsed rice to boiling water. Cook until rice is almost done then stir in chopped ginger. Cook five more minutes. Lightly coat the inside of a ramiken with vegetable oil or non-stick spray and fill with cooked rice to form the cute little rice mold. Garnish with thin slices of roasted red pepper.
Sauce:
1 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons syrup from preserved ginger (see above)
1 Tablespoon wasabi powder
1 Tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 Tablespoon lime juice
Combine ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer until sauce thickens and turns chocolate brown in color. Remove from heat and cool before serving.

Serves: 2.