Like a top-drawer beef steak, I also like my tuna steaks black on the outside and red in the middle.

To accomplish this, my tuna must be at least 3/4-inch thick (preferable 1-inch), with my heat searingly hot and a quick cooking time — about 2 minutes per side.

The following recipe is adapted from chef Tadashi Ono's new book, The Japanese Grill. Chef Tadashi is the owner of New York's Matsuri restaurant. So often cookbooks written by famous chefs (think Charlie Trotter) are quite complicated; the beauty in the following recipe lies in its simplicity.

I used more wasabi than the recipe called for; my tuna was 1-inch thick, and I substituted scallions for the chives.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
4 1/2 -pound, tuna steaks (3/4- to 1-inch thick)
2 avocados, pitted, flesh cut into chunks
1-2 tablespoons prepared wasabi
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives of chopped scallions

Directions

1. In a dish large enough to accommodate tuna steaks, whisk together soy sauce, garlic and olive oil. Thoroughly coat both sides of tuna with marinade.
2. Brush and oil grill grate and prepare gas or charcoal stove to high heat.
3. Mash together avocados, 1 tablespoon wasabi, lime juice and chives. Taste and add additional wasabi to taste.
4. Grill tuna two minutes on each side for rare to medium rare steaks. Serve fish with spooned wasabi on top.