Teriyaki Marinated Tuna Belly | Tuna Fish Recipe | Fishwife

To me the Tuna Belly is the “foie gras” of  tuna.  It is like eating Wagyu beef compared to eating a plain old shop bought steak.  Tuna belly or “toro” is generally considered the king of all sushi ingredients in Japan.

Only a small portion is available per tuna and in the Japanese market it is extremely expensive.  South African’s however don’t realise the value of this beautiful piece of marbled fatty fish, and often discard it as waste!  This is a simple tragedy in my book, as once you have tried it you will understand exactly why the Japanese pay a small fortune for this small cut of tuna.

The belly is very oily and high in omega 3 and it literally melts in one’s mouth.  Due to the marbled fatty content, it is important to cook the belly just through, allowing the fat to break down.

Teriyaki Marinated Tuna Belly

Serves 4

Prep Time

45 min

Cook Time

5 min

Ingredients

1. 1 pack of Greenfish Tuna Belly Steaks
2. Salt & Pepper
3. Japanese 7 spice (or 5 spice)
4. 1/3 Cup Teriyaki Sauce
5. 3 Tbsp Sesame Oil (can substitute with olive oil)
6. 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

1. Sprinkle the 7 spice, salt & pepper to both sides of the steaks. (You do not need to use a lot of the 7 spice as it has some heat to it!).
2. In a glass dish marinate the Tuna Belly in the Teriyaki Sauce, Sesame Oil and Lemon Juice for at least 45 minutes. (You can leave overnight in the fridge).
3. Heat the pan on high heat and quickly pan fry the steaks. Thin steaks will take approximately 1 minute per side and thicker steaks approximately 2 minutes per side.

Notes

1. You can substitute the Sesame Oil with Olive Oil - however the Sesame Oil gives a lovely nutty flavour.
2. Other nice additions to this recipe include: ginger, garlic and finely diced chilli.

You can create some delicious dipping sauces for the Tuna Belly by mixing 1:1 ratios of the following:
* Sweet Chilli Sauce and Sushi Mayonnaise
* Hoisin Sauce and Sushi Mayonnaise
or simply plain Sushi Mayonnaise on its own.