Chargrilled tuna steak with sesame leaf dressing

Sesame leaf is native to East Asia. It's often used in Korean dishes – commonly for ssam, a dish where the leaves are filled with grilled meats and eaten as a type of lettuce wrap.

Ingredients

• 50 g sesame leaf (Korean shiso)
• 10 g ginger
• 60 g sesame oil, plus extra for cooking
• 60 g brown rice vinegar
• 60 g mirin
• 60 g white soy sauce
• 20 g grapeseed oil, plus more for dressing
• salt
• 500 g raw tuna, block cut
• pickled julienned cucumber, to serve

Instructions

1. Finely slice sesame leaf and finely grate the ginger. In a medium frying pan, sauté the sesame leaf and ginger in a drizzle of sesame oil, making sure it doesn't brown. Set aside to cool.
2. Once cooled, finely chop the sesame leaf until it forms a paste. In a mixing jug, combine 60 g each of brown rice vinegar, mirin, white soy and sesame oil with the sesame leaf paste. Pour in a little grapeseed oil to form the dressing.
3. For the tuna, season lightly with salt. Heat a large frying pan over high heat, add the grapeseed oil and sear the tuna on each side for 30 seconds - 1 minute, depending on thickness, and set aside to cool.
4. Slice the tuna and place on a plate, layer with pickled cucumber and spoon the sesame leaf dressing over the top.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Sesame leaf is native to East Asia. It's often used in Korean dishes – commonly for ssam, a dish where the leaves are filled with grilled meats and eaten as a type of lettuce wrap.