Spicy Tuna Salad with Crispy Rice
This recipe falls under the category of “Weird Recipes To Which I Am Drawn.” I don’t know what it is but when I read a recipe that initially has me skeptical, bordering on slightly bothered, I cannot get it out of my head and ultimately feel compelled to give it a try. More often than not, these recipes are sleeper hits.
In the case of Spicy Tuna Salad with Crispy Rice, neither element is off-putting or even eccentric but the combination seemed somewhat bizarre. I mean spicy tuna + rice = no brainier, but tuna salad (as in a salad made from canned tuna) and rice, I just wasn’t sure. Imagining the texture was probably what tripped me up most. But as I considered that the sushi rice would be crisped with oil in a pan, and there for lend a little crunch to the tuna salad, I started coming around. I also had never made a “spicy” tuna salad before but then I considered the sandwich that I so love from the casual restaurant (and my Minneapolis airport favorite) Joe and the Juice, which is a spicy tuna mousse on super crisp flatbread, some bells started going off in my head. This Spicy Tuna Salad with Crispy Rice just may work.
I will say that the Spicy Tuna Salad would be delicious on it’s own or served as a sandwich, but the crispy rice is a nice surprise and feels more like dinner. The tuna could also be made spicier with fresh or pickled jalapeños. I chose to serve the tuna and rice with a side of sliced cucumbers and shelled edamame, both dressed with a rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce mixture, as opposed to the more simple cucumbers that the recipe suggests. And finally, I make all of my rice in a rice cooker which I could not recommend more highly, but the recipe below gives directions to boil in a lidded pan. Either way, you’ll need to crisp at the end in a hot pan.
All in all, the recipe was a hit and one that I will keep in my arsenal on those nights when I don’t really feel like cooking or we just want to keep it simple. Spicy Tuna Salad with Crispy Rice was a very pleasant surprise. Enjoy!
Spicy Tuna Salad with Crispy Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c sushi rice rinsed well
- 1 Tbls rice vinegar plus 2 tsp
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 scallions sliced
- 2 Persian or mini seedless cucumbers
- 4 5-oz cans water-packed tuna drained
- 1/3 c mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 Tbls sriracha plus more to taste
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbls neutral oil (such as grapeseed) plus more as needed
Instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet with a lid, stir together 2 cups water, the rice, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, the sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice the scallions and cucumbers. In a large bowl, stir together the scallions, tuna, mayonnaise, Sriracha, soy sauce and remaining 2 teaspoons rice vinegar. Taste and add more Sriracha for more heat. Refrigerate until the rice is ready (or up to 5 days).
- Sprinkle the cucumbers with a pinch of salt (or do as I did and marinate in a mixture of rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil).
- Now crisp the rice: Make 4 or 5 small holes in the rice in the skillet, then pour the oil down the sides of the pan and into the divots. Increase heat to medium and cook until the rice is browned at the edges, 4 to 7 minutes. (You can lift the rice to check.) If you don’t see oil bubbling in the holes, add a teaspoon or two more oil. You want the rice to develop a nicely browned crust.
- Divide the rice, crispy side up, among bowls or plates and serve with a scoop of the spicy tuna and the cucumbers.