It’s Tuesday and that means… TUNA TUESDAY! WooHoo!
I have really begun to look forward to these posts. It’s a lot of fun to try to come up with different ways to use a can of meat. I have also been exploring the canned meat aisle in the grocery store to see what other kinds of options there are. It is quite surprising to see the variety that is offered. I am still researching things to do with a can of sardines though. That one is tough.
So this week, I am getting away from the traditional fare and going in a completely Asian direction. Sushi!!
I love sushi. My husband and I eat it quite a bit on our “lunch dates”. And a spicy tuna roll is one of my absolute favorites. So, I started thinking how to turn a can of tuna into a spicy tuna roll, of sorts. The first thing you need, of course, is tuna. But not your regular ol’ $.50-per-can tuna. You need the good stuff. Albacore tuna. It runs a little less than $4 a can in my grocery store. Is it as wonderful as raw sushi grade tuna? No. But it is good, and a heck of a lot less than $20 per pound. I’m thinking you could use canned crab or salmon for this sushi, too.
I also found a fairly inexpensive alternative to making sushi rice from scratch ( which is a little time consuming). It’s this microwavable sushi rice. Less than $2 per pack and perfect if you only want to make a small amount of sushi rolls. All you need to do after microwaving it is add a little sushi vinegar to it, spread it out on a plate, and let it cool.
I also whipped together my own mayonnaise for this dish. It’s pretty easy to do, but you can also use a good store-bought mayo here too.
I did another sushi recipe several months ago with step-by-step instructions on how to roll sushi. Check that out for more detailed instructions on rolling and for making sushi rice from scratch. I would have done more step by step pics of rolling sushi on this post, but it’s hard to roll and photograph at the same time.
Wasabi Tuna Sushi
makes 4 rolls
1 can (6oz) Albacore Tuna, drained
1/3 cup mayonnaise, homemade or store bought
2 tsp. wasabi paste, plus more to serve
1/4 t. cayenne
1 t. fish sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. white pepper
2 cups cooked and cooled sushi rice
1 T plus 1 t. sushi vinegar
4 sheets of Nori seaweed
4 green onions, trimmed
pickled ginger and soy sauce, to serve
you will also need, a sushi mat ( or a bamboo placemat)
In a small bowl, mix together tuna, mayo, cayenne, 2 t. wasabi, salt and white pepper, and fish sauce. Set aside.
In another small bowl, mix together 1 T. sushi vinegar with a cup of water, set aside.
Spread sushi rice on a plate and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sushi vinegar, set aside.
Lay sushi mat on a flat work surface and place one sheet of nori, rough side up, short end closest to you.
Dip your fingers in vinegared water, pick up about a handful of rice and spread it evenly over the nori, leaving a 1 inch border at the far end of the sheet. If the rice starts to stick to you, dip your hands back in the water.
At the end closest to you, spread a few spoonfuls of the tuna mixture in a line over the rice. Place one stalk of green onion on top of the tuna mixture.
Using the mat, fold the edge of nori closest to you over the tuna filling and pull back on the mat snugly, to form a tight circle. Continue to roll the nori, using the mat, until you reach the end. Rub a dab of vinegared water over the edge of the nori to ensure that the roll seals.
Place the roll on a cutting board and cut in half. Then cut each half in half again. And then cut each piece in half once again to make 8 pieces.
Repeat those steps with the remaining sheets of nori.
Serve the rolls with pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi paste.
Ta Da!
Ingredients
- 6 oz. canned Albacore Tuna, drained
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise homemade or store bought
- 2 teaspoon wasabi paste plus more to serve
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 cups cooked and cooled sushi rice
- 1 Tablespoon plus 1 t. sushi vinegar
- 4 sheets of Nori seaweed
- 4 green onions trimmed
- pickled ginger and soy sauce to serve
- you will also need a sushi mat ( or a bamboo placemat)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together tuna, mayo, cayenne, 2 t. wasabi, salt and white pepper, and fish sauce. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, mix together 1 T. sushi vinegar with a cup of water, set aside.
- Spread sushi rice on a plate and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sushi vinegar, set aside.
- Lay sushi mat on a flat work surface and place one sheet of nori, rough side up, short end closest to you.
- Dip your fingers in vinegared water, pick up about a handful of rice and spread it evenly over the nori, leaving a 1 inch border at the far end of the sheet. If the rice starts to stick to you, dip your hands back in the water.
- At the end closest to you, spread a few spoonfuls of the tuna mixture in a line over the rice. Place one stalk of green onion on top of the tuna mixture.
- Using the mat, fold the edge of nori closest to you over the tuna filling and pull back on the mat snugly, to form a tight circle. Continue to roll the nori, using the mat, until you reach the end. Rub a dab of vinegared water over the edge of the nori to ensure that the roll seals.
- Place the roll on a cutting board and cut in half. Then cut each half in half again. And then cut each piece in half once again to make 8 pieces.
- Repeat those steps with the remaining sheets of nori.
- Serve the rolls with pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi paste.
- Ta Da!
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