Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna
I have never passed up the chance to order any dish that starts with the words Crispy and Spicy. Translation: I’m about to eat something that’s fried, fatty and flavorful. Ummmm SIGN ME UP.
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My kids have been begging to order in sushi for the last 3 months. And it’s not that I’m against it, but when you spend 5 gagillion dollars a week on groceries, it’s hard to justify the indulgence with a fridge full of food.
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Which is how I decided just to make it for her. Crispy Spicy Tuna is probably her favorite dish when we go out for Japanese. And that’s 100% because I raised her right and she has good taste. I had so much fun recreating this for her, even if frying rice cakes can get a little messy. I mean, what else do I have to do all day??? (Other than laundry...folding...cleaning...
homework...recipe research...grocery shopping...bills...dishes...)
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I also made a vegan version, using smashed chickpeas and mashed sweet potatoes, and guess what? Spicy Carbs and Carbs on top of Fried Carbs are pretty pretty pretty good.
STEP BY STEP PICTURES:
Crispy Spicy Tuna
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups sushi rice
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons mirin (sub white wine vinegar)
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 ¼ teaspoons Sriracha
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 8oz raw sushi-grade ahi tuna (sub ¾ cup lightly smashed chickpeas + ¼ cup cooked sweet potato for vegan version)
- 1 ½ tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 1 ½ tablespoon black sesame seeds
- 1 ½ cups grapeseed or avocado oil
- 1- 2 jalepeño peppers, thinly sliced
- soy sauce, for dipping
- Kikkoman Sweet Soy Glaze (optional)
Instructions:
- Combine sushi rice, water, mirin, rice vinegar, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid wrapped in a cloth and reduce to a simmer. Make sure the ends of the cloth are tied up into the handle of the lid, and not in danger of hanging into the flame. The cloth is going to stop condensation from dripping from the lid back into the rice. Simmer on low for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit covered for 15 minutes. Spread onto a large platter or transfer into a tupperware container and let cool in the refrigerator until fully chilled, anywhere from 2 hours to overnight.
- Cut tuna into small chunks and place in a food processor. Puree until smooth. In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, soy sauce, lime juice, sriracha and sesame oil. Fold in the tuna and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Serve alongside soy sauce and Kikkoman Sweet Soy Glaze, if desired.
- Form cold sushi rice into compact 2"x1" logs using a rice mold. Conversely, you can gently mold 2 tablespoons of rice into logs using your hands and place on a large sheet tray. Place both sesame seeds together in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of each log. Flip each log over, and repeat.
- Pour oil into a large pan that has sides about 3 - 4” high. You never want to fry when your oil is too close to the top of the edge of the pan. Turn the heat to medium high. Once the oil becomes hot enough, it will turn thin and wavy but not smoking. You don’t want smoking. Try to maintain an even temperature on your oil.
- Fry 10 at a time, turning once halfway through, for about two minutes a side, and then remove to a sheet tray lined with paper towel. You are aiming for light golden brown on all sides. You don’t want to over-fry them or they’ll be all crunch and no soft rice inside. Remove from the oil and repeat with the rest of the rice logs.
- Once frying is done, spread 1 tablespoon of Spicy Mayo onto each crispy sushi. Press a thin slice of jalapeno on top of each one.