This tuna salad maki bowl is a protein-packed pantry-friendly dish! It is essentially a deconstructed spicy tuna roll loaded with rice, veggies, and a perfectly spiced mayonnaise. Rather than using sushi-grade tuna, which isn’t readily accessible to many people, we substituted that ingredient for a high quality MSC certified canned tuna.
In addition to high quality canned tuna, this recipe features Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise as another key-ingredient. This ingredient brings this bowl home by giving it that boost of Japanese-American sushi restaurant flavor that we all love.
Why MSC certified tuna?
The title MSC stands for the Marine Stewardship Council. This council is an international non-profit organization that runs a certification program for wild-capture fisheries. They ensure that fisheries meet sustainability guidelines established by the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization, to reduce environmental impact and misleading labelling. The criteria to become a MSC certified fishery is categorized by the following three principles:
- Monitoring Sustainable Fish Stock by ensuring that the fish population can remain productive and healthy.
- Minimizing Environmental Impact by ensuring that other species and habitats within the fishing environment remain healthy
- Monitoring Effective Fishery Management by ensuring fisheries are complying with the governing laws
The work being done by the MSC is very important for the future of our oceans. It must be noted that although this work is being done to reduce the environmental impact of fishing, the single most effective way to create a more sustainable industry is to consume less fish. When consuming fish, selecting a responsibly sourced product will definitely minimize the impact of our choices.
Japanese-American Inspired
I’m not going to pretend that the idea for this bowl jumped out of no where, or came to me in a dream. Like most professional cooks, I am heavily influenced by other sources when it comes to recipe development. With that being said, I’m sure that if you’re at all acquainted with FoodTok, a community on TikTok, then it is likely that you’ve seen Emily Mariko‘s salmon and rice bowl. This bowl consisting of leftover rice and salmon popularized the “Maki Bowl” trend.
This recipe is a spin off version of hers, with tuna rather than salmon, making this dish more pantry friendly. I’ve refined the recipe by creating a dressing for the tuna, and adding fresh toppings such as sliced avocado, cucumber and a sprinkle of Shichimi Togarashi spice blend.
Tuna Salad “Maki” bowl
Ingredients
Rice
- 1 cup uncooked sticky sushi rice rinsed
- 2 ½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon organic sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
Spicy mayonnaise dressed tuna
- ¼ cup Kewpie mayo
- 2 tablespoons chili oil more or less dependent on spice tolerance
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon soya sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 5 oz. cans of MSC certified tuna, packed in water drained
- 1 clove of garlic finely minced
- 1 small knob of fresh ginger grated (about 1 tablespoon)
Toppings
- ½ english cucumber sliced
- 1 ripe avocado diced
- 2 full-sized sheets of nori cut into quarters
- Sprinkle of Shichimi Togarashi or Furikake
- 2 sprigs of scallions sliced on a bias
- Generous pinch of Kosher salt
Instructions
- 1. In a medium sauce pot, add the rinsed sushi rice, and 1.2 cups of water (282 ml). Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lowering the heat to a simmer, cook until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 13 minutes.
- 2. Prepare the seasoning for the rice by heating the rice vinegar with the sugar, and salt in a small pot or microwave until fully dissolved. One the rice is ready, mix in the seasoning. Set aside.
- 3. In a medium sized bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the spicy mayonnaise dressing. Open, and drain the cans of tuna. Incorporate the tuna into the spicy mayonnaise dressing. Refrigerate until ready for serving.
- 4. Divide the seasoned rice mixture into two shallow bowls. Top with the spicy tuna mixture, and prepared vegetables. Finish with scallions, Shichimi Togarashi and sheets of nori.