Inspired by the story of Frank Abagnale, the identity-morphing subject of book/movie “Catch Me If You Can,” I decided to take two radically different approaches to the same tuna steak.  I purchased one tuna steak from Ellwood Thompson’s and created two distinct meals from it, which makes this prime “Single and Starving” material.  It was a fun, easy, cheeky way to treat 8 dollars worth of tuna.

Franco-American

Sino-American

The total cost of the meal(s), not counting standard pantry items, was about $15.  That’s including the roughly three dollars of Manikintowne micro arugula, which I justified the purchase of by the presence of guests.  Clearly, if you were budget conscious, you could use pretty much whatever green you have on hand…fresh green beans are another smart substitution.

A Tale of Two Tunas

tuna steak
salt, pepper, blended oil

about 4 cherry tomatoes
1 Tbs capers
a few olives
2 hard-boiled quail eggs or, by all means, one chicken egg.  I just love tiny food stuffs.
half an avocado, seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon juice
a handful of micro arugula or something bright and green and complimentary to the above flavors.  (heh..it’s like recipe madlibs)

4 Tbs sherry vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard                        <———————   vinaigretterized
olive oil, salt, and pepper

1 serving sticky rice.  I just used my rice cooker and made a small batch.  easy breezy.  or follow some stove-top directions.  It’s rice.
half an english cucmber
half of avocado
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs lime juice
2 tsp sriracha
1 green onion
1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds

Season the tuna steak and sear it on each side until medium rare, and slice it as shown.

For the franco-american tuna, make a little salad of tomatoes, capers, olives, parsley, and sherry vinaigrette.  Toss the arugula with the mixture and use as a resting place for the tuna and sliced hard-boiled egg.

For the asian approach,  combine the cucmber, avocado, and remaining 5 ingredients to salad-y effect and then top the sticky rice with the mixture.  Then, tuna.  The dots are just eel sauce, which I keep on hand for whenever tuna is present.

This would make a fun dinner date concept:  You could each enjoy your own dish but then swap bites in the romantic, sensory, deliciousness that social eating inspires.