Gordon Ramsay's Ahi Tuna Technique Is Too Easy Not To Try

Sesame seared ahi tuna, the Cher of delicious and healthy recipes you can prepare in under 30 minutes, never goes out of style. Crunchy on the outside and smooth on the inside, ahi tuna steaks turn comforting when paired with a bowl of rice or noodles. The dish shines as an appetizer, too, sliced thinly and served on a fried wonton wrapper, with a demure dollop of wasabi mayo. It's such a crowd-pleaser, some form of it has been on menus around the world for decades. We even ranked it number 27 on our list of 35 popular '90s foods trends, right between white chocolate and themed restaurants. Iconic. Making this dish at home has never been easier, especially when you learn how to keep every single sesame seed on the fish and out of the pan. The trick, according to chef Gordon Ramsey, is to use egg whites.

Gordon Ramsay's simple solution flawlessly encrusts ahi tuna with this one ingredient. The most pressing factor (sorry) when applying sesame seeds to tuna steaks is getting them to stick. There's not much fat on ahi tuna, and while a binder like mayo or mustard works, it's too much for the raw ahi to handle. Spotlighting the tuna's delicate flavor is the goal, not drowning it. Some recipes call for oil and soy sauce, and while either of those (or a combination) works to an extent, seeds still tend to fall off in the pan. Let's look at how chef Ramsay applies the egg whites for the stickiest results.

Think about how bakers apply sesame seeds to buns before baking them. Yep, they use an egg wash because it works like glue. The method for ahi tuna is easy. Just whip a cup of egg whites to stiff peaks (about eight eggs), enough to cover four, 5-ounce tuna steaks in sesame seeds. Brush the egg whites all over your tuna steaks or use tongs to dip each one into the bowl of egg whites and then onto a plate of sesame seeds. Then make sure your pan is hot and ready to go with a little high-heat oil, like olive oil, grapeseed, avocado, or peanut oil.

Let the oil heat in the pan on medium high for about three minutes. If it starts smoking, it's too hot and will burn the sesame seeds before the fish gets a look-in. Toast the seeds to a tender, golden brown while quickly searing the outside of the tuna steaks, about one minute on each side gets them to a perfect medium rare. If this stage makes you nervous, read our tips to get the perfect sear on an ahi tuna steak. Finally, let the steaks rest for a few minutes before slicing them.

Our sesame-crusted tuna steak recipe is ideal to modify with this egg white trick. It calls for dipping the steaks in a blend of soy sauce and sesame oil, which will work as a delicious, quick marinade, and then do the egg-white trick to get those seeds to stick.