Asian-Style Pan-Seared Tuna
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Asian-Style Pan-Seared Tuna Recipe
Updated June 2026
At a Glance
Pan-seared tuna is a quick way of cooking seafood that involves searing it briefly over high heat so that the outside develops a crisp crust while the inside remains tender. A fast and easy weeknight meal, you can customize it to your tastes with different sides, marinades, flavours, and more. Seared tuna has a mild, slightly sweet taste with almost no fishy flavour. It has a meaty, firm, and buttery texture.
Asian Style Pan-Seared Tuna
A simple, restaurant-quality meal, this Asian style pan-seared tuna recipe comes together quickly and easily for even the busiest of weeknights. This dish feels elevated without being fussy because it doesn’t require a long cooking time or laborious process. With Asian-inspired seasonings and flavours, considering adding this elegant, protein-packed dish to your weekly menu rotation.
Ingredients for Asian Style Pan-Seared Tuna
Tuna: The star of this pan-seared tuna dish is, of course, the tuna. For this recipe, we used tuna steak. Farm Boy™ Tuna Steaks are boneless, skinless, and flash-frozen to lock in that ocean-flavour. Each pack comes with two satisfying portions of buttery yellowfin tuna that has been sustainably sourced as part of our Good Catch™ program. Thaw it overnight in the fridge for a more convenient cook.
For those who don’t know, ahi tuna and yellowfin tuna are the same thing! “Ahi” is simply the Hawaiian name for yellowfin tuna and the words are often used interchangeably.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The ideal oil for pan-searing these gorgeous tuna steaks is extra virgin olive oil. (If you only have a neutral oil, like avocado oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil, that works as well.) Farm Boy™ Extra Virgin Olive Oil comes from Italy and is crafted using over 200 years of family tradition and expertise. Cold-extracted for remarkable quality, it’s beautifully balanced with a rich flavour and subtle, fruity aroma.
Salt and Pepper: A standard seasoning blend, salt and pepper is a must when making pan-seared tuna. We like Farm Boy™ Fleur de Sel for this recipe and freshly cracked ground black pepper. Our fleur de sel is an ideal finishing salt for your favourite proteins. Sourced from salt marshes in Greece, its slow dissolving rate allows the flavour to linger longer for a more complex, nuanced culinary experience.
Sesame Ginger Dressing: Just a drizzle of this made-in-Ontario dressing elevates this simple pan-seared tuna recipe to new culinary heights. Slightly sweet, nutty, and tangy, Farm Boy™ Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette is crafted with canola oil, rice wine vinegar, maple syrup, soy sauce, sesame oil, mustard, chili paste, ginger, sea salt, and lime juice. You can also serve this tuna dish with a small bowl of it on the side for dipping, with a sprinkle of Farm Boy™ Sesame Seeds for extra crunch.
How to Make the Best Pan-Seared Tuna
Make sure your pan is hot. Properly searing your tuna is key to this recipe. Searing is cooking quickly over very high heat in order to achieve a nice, crispy exterior while keeping the interior tender. Whether you’re using a cast iron skillet or a non-stick pan, it needs to be extremely hot. To test if your pan is hot enough, flick some water into it. When the water hits the pan, it should sizzle loudly. This means your pan is hot enough to sear.
Add oil to hot pan. Now that you’ve gotten your pan hot enough to cook, don’t make the mistake of adding oil beforehand – if you do, your tuna is likely to stick, ruining that important crispy edge and the sear. Instead, wait until your pan is piping hot before adding the oil. When you lay your tuna onto the pan, lay the tuna steak away from you so that oil doesn’t spatter and injure you.
Use a sharp knife. For an elegant presentation and easy serving, you’ll want nice, even slices of seared tuna. After your tuna has finished cooking, use a very sharp knife to thinly slice your tuna. The knife should be sharp enough for clean slices without pulling or tearing the tuna. The interior of your tuna steaks should be nice and rare with a clear outer crust of a paler colour from the searing.
Serve tuna rare. Tuna steaks of this quality are at their best savoured rare. While you can certainly cook your tuna until medium-rare or medium, we think this dish is at its best when it has a cooked, seared exterior and a tender, rare interior.
What to Serve with Pan-Seared Tuna
Mixed greens: Sometimes, simple is best when it comes to serving a dish like this pan-seared tuna. One of our suggested sides would be a simple salad of mixed greens. Arugula, baby spinach, spring mix, and/or romaine lettuce are delicious paired with this seared tuna. You can even dress it with the same Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette for more cohesion.
Cucumber salad: Light and refreshing, consider an Asian-inspired cucumber salad to complement your seared tuna steaks. Choose thin-skinned cucumbers and toss them with rice vinegar, sesame oil, Farm Boy™ Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce (or tamari sauce if you’re gluten-free), Farm Boy™ Amber Maple Syrup, garlic, ginger, green onions, and toasted Farm Boy™ Sesame Seeds. Pro tip: salt your cumber slices beforehand. This allows some of the liquid to be released so you get a crispier, more flavourful salad.
Seasoned rice: A delicious, comforting side dish with this pan-seared tuna is seasoned rice. We recommend Farm Boy™ Medium Grain White Rice. Once the rice is cooked, toss with a dash of rice vinegar and Farm Boy™ Togarashi Seasoning. This spice mix is made with a blend of white sesame seeds, Szechuan pepper, cayenne pepper, orange peel, poppy seeds, black sesame seeds, and nori. It has a delicious, complex flavour that helps elevate standard rice, making it nutty and umami.
Heirloom tomato salad: Embrace summery vibes with an heirloom tomato salad. Our Heirloom Tomato, Beet, and Cantaloupe Salad recipe is simple and shareable and pairs beautifully with a protein like pan-seared tuna. You could even skip the Asian-inspired flavours of this pan-seared tuna and opt to use the same dressing for a more cohesive flavour profile.
More Seafood Recipes from Farm Boy
Looking for more seafood main dishes? Check out any of the recipes below!
Sweet and Spicy Togarashi Salmon
Mediterranean Black Cod en Papillote
Yogurt Marinated Crispy Salmon
Broiled Black Cod with Lemon Caper Butter
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Farm Boy™ Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Farm Boy™ Frozen Tuna Steaks thawed and patted dry
- Farm Boy™ Fleur de Sel to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2-3 Tbsp Farm Boy™ Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
- 1 green onion sliced
- 1 red chili pepper sliced
- 1 tsp Farm Boy™ Sesame Seeds
- fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
- lime wedges for garnish
Directions
- Season Farm Boy™ Tuna Steaks with Farm Boy™ Fleur de Sel and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Heat a non-stick pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until it is very hot.
- Add Farm Boy™ Extra Virgin Olive Oil and cook tuna steaks for 30-60 seconds per side, or to desired doneness.
- Thinly slice the seared tuna. Drizzle with Farm Boy™ Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette and garnish with green onion slices, chili pepper slices, Farm Boy™ Sesame Seeds, and fresh cilantro leaves.
- Serve with lime wedges for garnish.
