Seared Tuna with Sesame Buckwheat Soba Noodles

Ingredients

• 2 tuna steaks, about 180g each
• 180 g 100% buckwheat soba noodles
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 cucumber, cut into ribbons or matchsticks
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
• 3 spring onions, green tops only, sliced
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Pickled ginger, to serve
• Edamame (podded, lightly salted), to serve
• Miso soup, to serve

Method

1. Bring a big pan of well-salted water to a rolling boil — soba needs space to move, so don't skimp on the pan size. Drop in the buckwheat noodles and cook for 4–5 minutes per the packet, stirring once to stop them clumping.
2. Drain and rinse the noodles thoroughly under cold running water, working your fingers through them until they feel properly cool and no longer slippery. That starch rinse is the difference between distinct strands and a gluey clump. Toss with half the sesame oil to keep them loose.
3. Whisk the remaining sesame oil with the tamari, rice vinegar and grated ginger in a small bowl until it looks glossy and unified. Taste it — most of the salt comes from the tamari, but a final pinch ties it together.
4. Tip the noodles into a large bowl with the cucumber and most of the spring onion greens. Pour over the dressing and toss until every strand is slick and fragrant. Taste again and adjust now — at the end, not at the table.
5. Pat the tuna steaks bone dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no crust. Rub all over with the vegetable oil and season generously with salt and black pepper before they hit the pan.
6. Heat a heavy stainless or cast iron pan over very high heat until it is properly smoking. This is non-negotiable for a clean sear, and don't crowd the pan — two steaks max, with space between them, or you'll boil the tuna instead of searing it.
7. Lay the tuna in the pan and sear for 60–90 seconds each side for rare: a deep mahogany crust and a ruby centre. Push longer if you prefer it more cooked through. Lift onto a board and rest for 1 minute, then slice thickly across the grain with a sharp knife — sawing tears the fibres.
8. Divide the dressed noodles between two bowls and fan the sliced tuna on top. Scatter the toasted sesame seeds and the reserved spring onion greens, tuck a lime wedge alongside with the pickled ginger and edamame, and squeeze the lime over the tuna just before eating — the acid lifts the sear and cuts the sesame richness.