Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl

Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl
Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(4,709)
Notes
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This homey dish takes comforting canned tuna to richer, silkier heights. Mayonnaise helps to hold the tuna together and toasted sesame oil lends incomparable nuttiness. You can adjust the seasonings to your taste: Use as much or as little soy sauce as you’d like for a savory accent. You can lean into the nuttiness of this rice bowl by sowing the top with toasted sesame seeds, or amp up the savoriness with furikake or scallions. A staple of home cooking in Hawaii and South Korea (where it is sometimes called deopbap), this simple meal is a workday workhorse.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 serving
  • 1(5-ounce) can tuna (preferably any variety stored in oil), well drained
  • 2tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • ½teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1cup cooked white rice (preferably short- or medium-grain)
  • Toasted white or black sesame seeds, furikake or chopped scallions, for topping (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

604 calories; 29 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 16 grams polyunsaturated fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 32 grams protein; 662 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small bowl, stir the tuna, mayonnaise, sesame oil and soy sauce to combine.

  2. Step 2

    Add the white rice to a bowl and spoon the tuna mixture on top. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, furikake or scallions, if using.

Ratings

5 out of 5
4,709 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

This is a favorite lunch go-to at our house. I add sriracha to the mayo mixture, add a little rice wine vinegar to the rice, and serve with sliced cucumber and avocado. Toasted nori strips are a great addition too, makes me feel like I’m eating sushi.

This makes a wonderful and filling comfort bowl as is, but if you like kimchi please do yourself a favor and try mixing the tuna mayo with kimchi stir-fried in a bit of sesame oil (aka kimchi bokkeum)!

Wonderfully easy for someone who is just sick of (55 years)cooking. IMO this could be eaten warm or room temperature; any rice will do.

My wife is Japanese and this is Japanese comfort food that is eaten in our household a couple times a week by her and daughter. In Japanese it is called tsuna-gohan. We never use canned tuna stored in oil, only in water. My wife considers tuna canned in oil inedible. I often add chopped dill pickles and good quality canned corn to mine. And more mayonnaise. As in anything, good quality mayonnaise is a must.

Would canned salmon be good instead of tuna?

Add a little rice vinegar to make this really pop!

This is comfort food for me--my mom is Japanese, and when my first child woke me in the middle of the night the day after her birth, this is what I made for myself. This is a common rice ball flavor in Japan, with the exception of the sesame oil, which I have never used. Also, use Kewpie mayonaise if you can! It makes a difference. Umeboshi (pickled plums) or umeboshi paste provides a contrasting tang, and spooning the rice and some tuna onto nori makes this an improvised hand roll.

Microwave rice! It's fast and comes out right every time in 90 seconds! Comes in sticky and brown rice versions. You could use some of the flavored tuna options that are now available and throw in some cooked vegetable. As Jacques Pepin says, "Let the grocery be your sous chef."

At first glance I giggled seeing this recipe. At second glance, I was intrigued. In my bowl I guess I had my third glance, and I swooned. What a lovely and comforting meal we had last night. My base was warmed Sushi rice, and I also fanned some Avocado slices next to the delish Tuna mixture. Eric Kim is a treasure.

I like to add a squirt of Sriracha, and always some chopped green onions. I lived on this through law school.

Add some spring mix, baby spinach, or bok choy to the bowl & you have a perfect meal!

As Caroline mentioned, kimchi is a wonderful addition to this recipe. Other possibilities include thinly sliced cucumber, carrot, and perilla leaves to get your greens in, or a soft boiled egg, Asian pickles, or spicy sauce. Another thing — you can eat this wrapped in nori sheets as an alternative to sprinkling furikake on top if you’re craving that seaweed flavor.

To answer Mary Beth, I'm not sure of Eric Kim's intentions, but I would make the rice like sushi rice, finishing with rice wine vinegar on hot rice, then leave the bowl (covered) on the kitchen counter for 3-4 hours. That way, the rice would be cool enough not to cook the fish or any ingredients or add-ins but warm enough to have a silky texture. If I were using leftover rice, I would warm it for ten seconds in the microwave. The goal is room-temperature.

Never thought I’d see this recipe here! My mom used to make this for me growing up (Vietnamese household), and I still make it today. Incredibly comforting, cheap and easy thing for lunch. I sometimes make a batch of both rice and tuna so I can have an easy lunch for a few days. Looking forward to trying it with kimchi next time!!

This is delightful. Made a quick pickled onion in rice vinegar while the rice cooked. I served it with chopped cilantro, thinly sliced cucumber, and some avocado. The taste of the sesame – delicious! just wish that I had some pickled ginger on hand.

Not sure if it’s been mentioned. I subbed chickpeas for tuna to make it vegetarian. Also added rice wine vinegar, scallions, and put avocado on top. Good stuff!

scallions Lots of sesame Sriracha soy sauce drizzle on top

Followed recipe. Sprinkled with sliced scallions. In future I will probably use water packed tuna as a personal preference. But I enjoyed it as written in the recipe.

For me, this has a satisfying flavor akin to sushi. It’s subtle, but comforting. I’m going to alter the recipe to include sardines and brown rice for variation and hope it’s still as satisfying! Yummy and easy recipe!

Double this recipe w/ 3 Ortiz cans (12 ozs total)

I added some gochugaru (Chile flakes) and rice vinegar. It was very good and so simple!!

Try it with milanese risotto and chopped onions.

Very tasty but kind of bland. I make a wasabi mayo mixture for the tuna salad, and add fresh minced ginger and garlic to the salad. Serve with your choice of fresh or steamed vegetables and top with sliced scallions and black sesame seeds. Yum!

Delicious every time! A perfect quick summer meal. I usually make a quick pickled cucumber salad to eat with this, and sometimes we stuff mouthfuls of the tuna and rice into seaweed sheets.

This is a favorite! I added thinly sliced cucumber and finely minced fresh lemon to brighten it up.

Have made this several times. This time used canned salmon—so good! Mixed in the veggies I had on-hand: Corn from one fresh cob, lots of scallions, bunch of torn dried seaweed. Drizzled extra mayo and sriracha atop. Love this as a riffable base. TY Eric!

Small spoonful extra mayo Good dash of rice vinegar Sriracha

Can confirm that this is equally, if not more, delicious with brown rice.

Furikake is a great addition to this!

This recipe was so simple, so dazzling in flavor! Would be wonderful served with pasta in place of rice too. Definitely a keeper!

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Credits

By Eric Kim

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