Tunu Ahi (Rapa Nui Hot-Stone-Seared Fish)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Two food-safe basalt grilling stones, or one heavy cast-iron griddle or plancha
• •Outdoor grill with charcoal or gas flame
• •Long-handled tongs and a fish spatula
• •Infrared thermometer, helpful for checking stone heat

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the fish

   Pat the fish dry until the surface feels clean and a little tacky, then salt both sides and let it sit 10 to 15 minutes while the stone heats. This is not a dish with plenty hiding places. The fish, the salt, the fire, that's it, so start with fish you'd trust with almost nothing on it.

   If the fish smells strong or looks dull, no make it rare. Cook it through, flake it over rice or kumara, and the table is still fed.
2. 2

   Heat the stones

   Set food-safe basalt grilling stones on an outdoor grill over hardwood charcoal or a strong gas flame and heat them slowly, lid closed, 35 to 45 minutes, until the surface is ripping hot, about 500F to 600F. No use wet river stones, beach stones, or stones from protected places. On Rapa Nui you don't take from an ahu, a ceremonial stone platform, and in your kitchen you don't gamble with a stone that can crack.

   A heavy cast-iron griddle or plancha is the honest weeknight stand-in. It won't carry the shoreline with it, but it gives the fish the same fast, hard heat.
3. 3

   Ready the leaf

   Lay banana leaves on a wooden platter or a clean board, and set the cooked kumara, taro, or breadfruit close by. Rapa Nui's tunu ahi is quick food, shoreline food, not a one-plate performance. Have the table ready before the fish touches the stone.

4. 4

   Sear the first side

   Brush the fish with the thinnest film of oil if it needs help releasing, then lay it on the hot stone away from you. Leave it alone 1 to 2 minutes, until the underside marks dark and the edge turns opaque. Don't scrape and fuss. The stone is doing its work.

5. 5

   Turn and finish

   Turn the fish once. For tuna sold for raw eating, pull it while the center is still rosy and glossy, around 115F to 125F. For sierra or any fish you don't know that well, cook until the flesh flakes and reaches 145F. Eat what you have, but know what you're serving.

6. 6

   Rest and share

   Move the fish onto the banana leaf and let it rest 3 minutes, just long enough for the juices to settle back into the flesh. Finish with a pinch of coarse salt and lime or lemon if your table wants it. Serve with kumara, taro, or breadfruit, and let people pull from the same platter.

Chef Tips

• •Buy fish from somebody who can tell you when it came out of the water. Fresh fish smells like the ocean and almost nothing else. If that answer is vague, cook it through.
• •Use purchased food-safe basalt stones or a cast-iron griddle. Don't take stones from archaeological places, protected coastline, or any place that belongs to the people and their dead. Rapa Nui has enough taken from it already.
• •Hardwood charcoal gives the closest outdoor taste. Indoors, a cast-iron pan under a strong vent works fine, and nobody needs to pretend their apartment is a shoreline.
• •Kumara, taro, breadfruit, rice, or a sharp little salad all belong beside this. Keeper, not gatekeeper. Feed the table you actually have.
• •Leftover fish is still good food. Flake it over rice with a little lime and salt, or fold it into a simple lunch plate the next day.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook the kumara, taro, or breadfruit up to 2 days ahead and warm it gently before serving.
• •Cut the fish into steaks the morning of and keep it cold, but salt it only 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.
• •Heat the stones last and serve right away. Tunu ahi is not make-ahead food; the whole pleasure is that fast meeting of fish and fire.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)