As a kid that grew up in a pretty All-American Family, I acquired the same sort of palate. I’ve spoken many times about my cereal connoisseur-ship, the use of Aunt Jemimah pancake mix, and tator tot hot dish, so I’m sure you’ve got a mental picture. I wasn’t picky per se, but I was extremely hesitant to try new things.

In high school, our town began to boast a few more adventurous restaurants that didn’t solely offer burgers, spaghetti, or steak, and there is one distinct memory I have about when my tastes began to change. We were out to dinner at one of our favorite new restaurants (my mom was a big fan of their mojitos) and I was convinced to eat barely seared tuna in an appetizer.

I remember taking a bite and feeling a mixture of emotions. I was overjoyed by the incredible texture and flavor of the tender and fatty fish while also a bit sad that I had been denied food like this my whole life thus far. After that moment, a switch flipped, and I began seeking out more and more foods that I would normally stay far away from. Thus, tuna has become a sort of symbol for my love of diverse foods and adulthood. In fact, one of the first things I made when I moved to Long Island after graduate school was this stunning dish with cubed, raw tuna from Jeanine which was a signal of pure grown-up-ness in my mind.

One of the things that really made me undergo a 180 on foods was the unique texture of raw tuna. Last year, I wrote about the science behind why the physiology of fish lends it such a different texture than other meats for Edible. And in fact, that texture created by the muscle structure and the inherent flavor of fatty fish lends an opportunity for special meal compositions to highlight the fish. For this particular piece, I was highlighting a chef that specializes in fish preparations, but don’t be fooled by the chef talk. We can do this at home! Let’s jump in, shall we?

Broadly, fish muscles are made up of three different types of proteins. The first type, least important for us, is sarcoplasmic—the active class of proteins. Made up of enzymes and proteins carrying blood throughout the body, the sarcoplasmic proteins are very similar to land animal muscle. They give the fish power to swim.

The second group of proteins present in fish muscle is myofibrillar, also called contractile proteins. These are the most abundant proteins in the muscles. The group contains some of the same functional proteins as land animals such as myosin, actin, tropomyosin, and troponin. The similarities end there, however, as they are arranged differently by connective tissue. As the name suggests, these proteins are responsible for the function of muscle contraction. They also make up the bulk structure of the muscles.

The third and final class of proteins in fish muscle is the connective tissue. The two main proteins in this group are collagen and elastin. The connective tissue is extremely important for the poissonnier (fish chef) for several reasons.

The amount of connective tissue is lower in fish than in land animals. This is because less structural support is needed in fish. For example, a muscle filament in a piece of beef has connective tissue all along its length tying it to other filaments creating a strong foundation for, well, beefy muscles. Fish muscle fibers are primarily tied together at the ends in a zig zag arrangement. While this creates an overall less stable muscle system, it is incredibly interesting and functional for the properties of fish cookery. The lower quantity of connective tissue and relatively minimal interconnectedness within the muscles creates an extremely tender texture. Additionally, the zig zag arrangement of the fibers creates that flakiness we all search for in a perfectly-cooked piece of fish when the connective tissue between them gelatinizes.

Which brings us to collagen specifically. The proportion of collagen to other connective tissue proteins is extraordinary in fish. When exposed to heat, collagen gelatinizes softening the muscle’s texture. Compare this to elastin, another prominent connective tissue protein, particularly in mammals, which is less affected by heat and much more elastic in nature (as you’d guess from the name). Furthermore, collagen in fish as compared to land animals is much more sensitive to heat. The “shrinkage temperature” or temperature at which the collagen begins to break down in most fish is at 45⁰C or 113⁰F. Mammalian collagen’s shrinkage temperature is about 60-65⁰C or 140-149⁰F. That more sensitive fish tissue is one of the reasons that fish requires more advanced technique and experience to pull off consistently. Poaching, for example, is such a successful cooking method for fish because it uses indirect heat to gently cook and soften the fish. Controlling the degree of cooking in a steak using powerful heat has much more wiggle room than in a piece of halibut. That is why you’ll hear Gordon Ramsey screaming about an overcooked, dry piece of fish just as often as an undercooked piece of fish.

Of course, muscle is only part of the equation. Fat is very important to a diner’s perception of a piece of fish. Compare in your mind how a piece of Bluefin tuna feels in your mouth as opposed to a piece of cod, and you’ll understand right away how important fat can be to the eating quality of fish. It is also rather important for the choices that a chef makes when preparing a meal. (Read more on this topic and how a Long Island chef approaches plate composition with different varieties of fish here!)

So here we come to this salad. It features tuna, barely seared, next to a crisp pea salad (also a favorite, as you are well aware), sweet, tangy mango, and red onion to cut through the fattiness of the tuna. Basically, my perfect idea of a spring dish to share. I think it works wonderfully as an appetizer for four, but as a main dish it might work better for two or three depending on how hungry you and your guests are (and if you’re serving it with something alongside). Serve this baby, and I’m sure you’ll feel très elegant.

Did any of you have meal epiphanies like I did? A moment when your eyes were opened to the diverse world of foods? I’d love to hear!

Sesame Crusted Tuna with Pea and Mango Salad

Adapted from This is Crumb

Serves 4

Print Recipe

2 1 ½-inch Ahi tuna steaks

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup sesame seeds

2 ½ tablespoons sesame oil, separated

½ cup shelled edamame

½ cup peas

½ pound sugar snap peas, cut on a bias

1 mango, cut into 1-inch pieces

¼ red onion, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lime

Kosher salt and pepper

1. In a shallow dish, marinate the tuna steaks in the soy sauce, flipping them over halfway through once.
2. In the meantime, blanch your vegetables. Set up a pot of boiling water and a container of ice water nearby. Blanch the snap peas first, putting them in the boiling water for a minute (depending on how snappy you want them to be) and putting them in the ice water right after. Next, blanch the edamame and peas in the boiling water for 30 seconds and put them in the ice water as well. Drain the veggies and put in a medium bowl.
3. Add then onion and cut mango to the bowl with the green veggies. Add the lime juice and one tablespoon of the sesame oil to the bowl along with a few cracks of black pepper and a few pinches of salt. Toss to combine and set aside.
4. Pat the surface of the marinated tuna steaks dry and encrust both sides with the sesame seeds. Heat the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Place the crusted tuna steaks in the hot pan and sear them for 1-1 ½ minutes. Flip them over and sear for another 1-1 ½ minutes. Remove the steaks from the pan and put on a cutting board. Cut into pieces, 3-4 mm thick.
5. Arrange the salad on a serving platter followed by the sliced tuna. Serve right away and enjoy!