I already posted a Spicy tuna onigiri recipe, which is quite fast to make. I find it ideal when packing a quick lunch.

When eating home with your family or guests though, I love a good dish to share and prep on the spot, where everyone is involved, like Korean barbecues, Mexican tacos, or French crepes. In all these instances, you set one large spread of ingredients on the table, and as everyone gathers around and shares it all, you get a sense of closeness and community that makes the moment precious.

I crafted those Spicy Tuna Bites in this spirit. I bought some of these cute small nori sheets, designed to individually pile a mouthful of ingredients upon it. I started to picture rice, then tuna. As a simple sauce to get everything to slide, a gochujang spicy mayo -because what’s better than tuna and mayo ??- with a touch of sesame, that I love with tuna.

Where’s the crunch though ? The special kick ? Well, kimchi here has you covered, with its spicy tang ; add a slice of green chili pepper if you dare, to make the whole bite properly spicy and crunchy and perfect. I absolutely adored this canned tuna bite. It takes some humble tuna to the very next level, in a matter of minutes.

Then I thought ; tuna + rice… Ahi Poke… Of course, let’s make a raw tuna bite !! You simply dice your sushi-grade raw tuna, then mix it with the spicy mayo. That’s it. Then everybody assembles it the way they want.

You launch your rice, then get both kinds of tuna ready within 10 minutes. You spend one minute slicing the green chili pepper, one more to quickly put the rest on the table ; that’s it ! That’s honestly my best time spent to pleasure ratio so far -around 10 minutes of active work, then just wait for the rice to be ready.

Spicy Tuna Bites (2 ways) – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

• You can buy small nori sheets at Asian stores. If you can’t find them, simply cut your Nori sheets using scissors !
• It is important to use short-grain rice here, so that it sticks together on your bite. Nowadays, you can find it in your grocery store.
• Try to pick an oil-based canned tuna. I know, oil + mayo seems unhealthy, but remember that the oil is drained and that you actually eat a small portion of it.
• For the raw tuna version, only pick sushi-grade raw tuna, or tell your fishmonger’s you plan on eating it raw.
• For the Gochujang paste, you’ll likely need to go to an Asian store to find it. You can substitute it with another hot sauce, but Gochujang is a tad more relevant in this simple recipe ; as it is fermented, it brings in a nice depth of flavour.
• Also, feel free to add any ingredient you like to this spread ! You could go for raw/pickled/spring onions, add pieces of fruit such as a cubed apple, replace your nori sheets with lettuce leaves ; or make a miso mayo if you don’t like it spicy !

Recipe – Advice & key points

• If you want to prep it in advance, you can, except for the rice !

All set ? Let’s dig into it !

Print Recipe

Spicy Tuna Bites (2 ways)

Author: Multicarbs Cuisine: Asian cuisines, Korean cuisine Courses: Appetizer, Fish, Main dish, Rice, Starter Recipe Keys: Repas rapides Sans maïs

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 5 min Total Time 20 mins

Servings: 3

Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Description

A honest crush of mine. Who knew canned tuna, with the help of a gochujang-sesame mayo, some kimchi and green chili pepper, could reach such heights ? And who knew posh, raw tuna bites could be prepped in a matter of minutes ? 

Ingredients

Servings

• 1 cup short-grain rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 can tuna preserved in oil (1 can = 140g)
• 200 grams fresh raw tuna (sushi-grade)
• tiny nori sheets
• 1 green chili pepper (optional, for my spicy lovers)
• Kimchi
• fried onions

For the spicy mayo

• 3 tablespoons Kewpie mayo
• 1 tablespoon Gochujang paste
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

1. Prep your ingredients

   If using a rice cooker, wash your rice several times (4 to 5 usually) until the water gets almost translucent. Add your water (around 1:1 rice to water ratio), then launch your rice (if you have some more time, let it soak a little first).

   Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, mix together your mayo, gochujang and sesame oil. Taste and ajust.  

   Cube your tuna by making long strips first then cutting perpendicularly. Mix your cubed tuna with one tablespoon of spicy mayo.

   Drain your canned tuna.

   Slice your green chili pepper, if using.

2. Assemble

   Assemble all the ingredients into small bowls for everyone to pick what they like. Set them directly on the serving table. 

   Ask everyone to use a nori sheet for each bite, then pile the food that they like upon it.

   Suggested bites : 

   • For the canned tuna : Nori sheet, rice, spicy mayo, canned tuna, kimchi, green chili pepper
   • For the raw tuna : Nori sheet, rice, spicy raw tuna, fried onions.

   Et voilà !! You're done !

Keywords: home made, spicy tuna, spicy tuna bite, tuna onigiri, spicy canned tuna, spicy raw tuna, rice sandwich, tuna, rice, street food, comforting