Chinese Five-Spice Seared Ahi Salad

If you couldn't tell from previous posts, I love ahi. I love its flavor, its versatility and how with it you can have something that looks wonderful and tastes great on the table in just a few minutes. I especially like to sear it and to play around with different spices and seasonings.

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For this salad, I decided to coat the ahi with a mixture of Chinese Five-Spice Powder, toasted sesame seeds, salt and pepper. (Chinese Five-Spice powders are usually a combination of at least 5 spices--usually cinnamon, anise, fennel, cloves and Szechuan peppercorns; the idea being it reflects the 5 flavor elements of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and pungent). I tip I read somewhere is to score the ahi block before coating and searing it so that it slices easier. I mixed the five-spice, sesame seeds, salt and pepper on a plate and coated the ahi block with it. A quick searing, about 30-40 seconds per side (do all four sides) in a hot, oiled pan and it's ready to slice and serve.

I put mine on a salad made up of what I had in the veggie drawer--lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, grated carrot, cilantro and some chopped mango and topped it with a sesame-lime vinaigrette, the ahi and then a light sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

Sesame-Lime Vinaigrette

Juice of 1 lime

2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar

1 clove garlic crushed

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sesame seed oil

1/8 tsp Stevia or 1/4 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

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Mix all ingredients together and drizzle over salad.

Easy, quick, cool and refreshing with lots of flavor--a perfect warm weather meal.