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An easy spicy tuna recipe packed with flavour and zing. This is definitely a deconstructed sushi roll in a bowl you would make over and over again.
This is essentially our most favourite sushi flavours all rolled into one, or not rolled so to speak. A simple but exciting seared spicy tuna sushi bowl packed with flavour from a little twist of Mexico with jalapeños, avocado and pickled cabbage.
Delicious spice tuna rolls
Spicy tuna rolls, from which this dish has taken inspiration, are inside-out rolls where a thick meaty piece of fresh tuna and crisp cucumber is encased in some nori seaweed where the soft sushi rice is on the outside.
The spice generally comes from the whole thing being dusted with a liberal coating of shichimi togarashi seasoning and Sriracha sauce for extra heat. It has an incredible flavour, but as with sushi rolls, you do need a sushi mat and patience and expertise to first cut the nori seaweed paper to size, coat perfectly cooked and seasoned sushi rice over with little or no mess before flipping it over, lining it with precision trimmed sashimi grade tuna, fresh sliced cucumber then deftly rolling into a neat tube.
Cutting through the glutinous rice and the nori seaweed can pose its own problems too, and this is all before you’ll most probably need to do another roll to feed everyone. You may even have to think about adding another roll for variety too. To be fair, sushi doesn’t exactly use up a regular-sized tuna steak in a practical way. There is always something leftover.
Quick, easy, no-mess sushi bowls
By creating a spicy tuna sushi bowl you can maximise your quantities without fear of mess or needing another recipe to use the rest of your tuna. You get all the flavours of your favourite sushi dish, all those wonderful textures and definitely a dish that looks absolutely stunning. There is little fuss, little mess and it’s definitely not little on flavour. If this sushi bowl or deconstructed spicy tuna sushi roll was any easier we would be calling it “cheats sushi”
An amazing spicy tuna fusion of two flavoursome cuisines
With the addition of some classic Mexican flavours that you would see on fish tacos for instance this sushi bowl has a great fusion to it. Japanese cuisine is already infused with Peruvian to great effect with Nikkei cuisine which sees sashimis and ceviches expertly mixed in some of the worlds greatest restaurants.
The way Mexico creates fresh and spicy fish dishes is not too dissimilar to the way Japan does which is why the two cuisines mixed together works so well.
Japan has shichimi chilli pepper seasoning or wasabi for spicy and flavoursome heat. Mexico has numerous chilli such as habaneros, jalapeños or hot sauces. The two can go hand in hand or exchange for one another easily. Both cuisines love to eat fish, much of it raw and both love pickles. Garry or pickled ginger traditionally pairs with sushi as does a simple red onion or cabbage pickle work so well with tacos.
Again the two can be intertwined or simply swapped. What this means is that your sushi bowls can be different each time you make one simply by interchanging one of the ingredients by its opposing nation's counterpart.
Another aspect that will entice people to try this recipe is by acknowledging that tuna is enjoyed very much the same way a steak can be enjoyed, and that is from everything from totally raw to totally cooked throughout.
If anyone is put off by sushi saying they don’t like raw fish, just cook the steak throughout. The good thing about food is that everyone eats it and everyone has their own tastes. This dish can be a little more versatile if needed.
Of course, we recommend a steak that is cooked on a high heat for such a small amount of time that you end up with a beautifully seared piece of meat so that the middle is as fresh as sashimi.
How to cook the rice
For the rice, japonica or sushi rice is best. It contains the right amount of starch so that the rice absorbs more flavour from the seasoning and yet keeps its shape and texture. You don’t have to even wait for the rice to cool either as this sushi bowl can be equally enjoyed hot or cold. Cooking sushi rice is also very easy. Most packets will show cooking instructions but simply rinsing your rice through cold water before adding twice the amount of cold water to your rice you shouldn’t go wrong. Bring the water to a gentle boil then, turn the heat right down low and place a lid over the pan until the rice has absorbed all the water. Rest the rice off the heat to allow it to steam and settle then stir or fold through the rice vinegar to season.
Spicy tuna bowls with pink pickled cabbage
The pickle marries both cuisines really well not only in flavour but in technique too. It is a very simple pickle and can be used for other dishes too. Along with the obvious being used for tacos, this pickle works extraordinarily with cold cuts of meat or even on the side of a pizza!
The flavour comes from white cabbage as opposed to red cabbage as it is spicier and when the Japanese rice vinegar and Mexican lime hit the red onion alongside it, the whole thing turns deliciously pink. A touch of maple syrup adds sweetness too that is really more-ish. You can thinly slice the red onion and cabbage with a knife or use a mandolin. Just bring the pickling liquor which is half water half rice vinegar and lime with a little maple syrup to the boil, add the cabbage and red onion then remove from the heat so that the vegetables steep in the liquid and take on all that beautiful flavour.
When you eat sushi, you ultimately dip it in soy sauce and wasabi. This element of spicy tuna sushi is created with an easy soy dressing that utilises the salty depth of soy with vinegar and sesame oil with the agreed shared spice of both jalapeño and shichimi togarashi.
Of course, the whole dish should be liberally dusted with more of this spicy shichimi togarashi seasoning as well as coated over the tuna steak. A few slices of fresh avocado will cool the palette down as well as adding another texture and colour to this vibrant spicy tuna meal. Easy enough for every day yet vivid and exciting to serve as a treat. You choose.
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Spicy tuna recipe (deconstructed sushi rolls)
Ingredients
- 240g / 2 fresh tuna steaks
- 1 avocado, skinned, de-stoned and sliced
- 125 g or ½ a cup of sushi rice
- ½ tablespoon of japanese rice vinegar/ seasoning
For the pickle
- 120 g of white cabbage thinly sliced
- 60 g (half) red onion thinly sliced
- 125 ml or ½ a cup of water
- 125 ml or ½ a cup of Japanese rice vinegar
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
For the dressing
- 1 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon of sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon of shichimi togarashi seasoning
- 1 cm of finely sliced fresh jalapeño
Instructions
How to make pickled cabbage
- Add the ½ a cup of water with the ½ a cup of Japanese rice vinegar with the lime juice and maple syrup and bring to the boil. Add the cabbage and red onion then remove from the heat. Place in a jar in the fridge to cool.
How to cook rice
- Wash the rice in cold water a few times and drain. Place in a pan and add the water in a ratio of 2-1. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and place a lid on the pan. Leave the rice until all the water has absorbed. Take the pan off the heat and leave it to steam for a few minutes before folding in ½ a tablespoon of sushi rice seasoning / rice wine vinegar.
Perfectly seared tuna steaks
- Add some oil to a hot frying pan and sear the tuna steaks for 20 seconds each side. Set aside and rest until ready to serve.
Dressing
- Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
How to serve
- You can serve this dish either hot or cold.
- Divide the rice between two plates and share the sliced avocado on the side.
- Slice the tuna into slices and place the slices on top. Liberally dust with the shichimi seasoning and place a spoonful of the pickle on top. Pour over the dressing or serve on the side.
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