Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl

Name: Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: korean
Ingredients: 1 (5-ounce) can tuna (preferably any variety stored in oil), well drained; 2 tablespoons mayonnaise; 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil; 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce; 1 cup cooked white rice (preferably short- or medium-grain); Toasted white or black sesame seeds, furikake or chopped scallions, for topping (optional)

By Eric Kim

Published June 22, 2022

Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl — Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Total Time: 5 minutes
Rating: 5(6,143)
Comments: Read comments

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

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Preparation

Step 1
In a small bowl, stir the tuna, mayonnaise, sesame oil and soy sauce to combine.
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

6,143 user ratings

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Comments

Christy3 years ago

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.

Caroline Ahn3 years ago

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)!

Figaro3 years ago

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.

Audrey2 days ago

I love this for lunch! I always make extra rice for dinner so I can have this for lunch. Today I had leftover cooked salmon so used that instead of tuna- delicious! I like to add some veggies like sliced cucumber and/or radishes. And add chile crips on top.

Kari5 days ago

Really good, but as others suggest, it needs something acidic (I used seasoned rice vinegar in the rice while it was hot) to make the flavor profile complete. I also enjoyed with beni shoga (Japanese red pickled ginger - crunchy, and flavor is closer to deli pickle - not sweet). I craved this again but had no more tuna, so I made it with grilled tofu (and ate with seasoned rice) and while it doesn't taste like tuna, the tofu was still really good. (I did find I needed a drop of sweetener to balance out all the savory. A shake of msg was added but next time I might do kelp granules instead to really lean into the fishy taste.)

Paul R1 week ago

Excellent. I made it the first time per the recipe. Then I made it again with leftover salmon. Great both times and quick.

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