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(4,286)
Notes
Read community notes

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
4,286 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!

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."

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.

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.

so good. sriracha/sriracha mayo highly recommended

We add hot/sweet jalapeños, toasted sesame, avocado. Double or triple your recipe. You are going to want more

Oh this was delicious - added momofuku chili crunch to tuna and rice vinegar to rice ate w nori cucumbers and avocado

I eat this for lunch weekly, it's fantastic. I usually add a little chili oil to the tuna mixture for some added heat.

Amazingly satisfying. I made it as directed for a quick meal for the two of us. Served with kimchi, smashed salted cucumbers, and sriracha on the side. This will become a frequent choice for a quick meal.

I eat this like, multiple times a week, if I have the ingredients. Never been a canned tuna girl until now. I’m trying different brands and types of tuna, but so far, they’re all good when done up this way. I might die if I didn’t have this recipe. It’s just so easy and delicious. Oh, I also cook my rice in the microwave. EASY!

Another home run for Eric Kim! I (like other commenters) added a squirt of sriracha, and added sliced cucumber and red bell pepper on top of the rice before adding the tuna salad. I like it with both scallions and furikake. Note - Kewpie mayo really does make a difference! I've made this several times ... once I had some leftover salmon so used that instead of tuna - great!

I went in thinking this would taste awful and it is surprisingly nice! Great thing to do when you have leftover rice and not enough will to cook. Will definitely add other toppings next time as well.

Super easy and a hit with 3/4 of us. Leftovers were great with eggs with runny yolks and crisped up leftover rice for a super-proteinaceous breakfast.

Finally made this. It's delicious!! The only changes I made from the recipe as written is tuna in water and brown rice.

Eric Kim, you food magician you! This is another amazing dish, taking something seemingly mundane and making it special. The addition of soy sauce and sesame oil to the dish adds a punch that tones down the fishiness of the tuna. Very comforting recipe.

Terrifically satisfying and yummy meal. I strayed from Eric’s ingredients by using Massa Organics brown rice and including a bit of sliced avocado. Superb results!

Did it (again) tonight - thinly sliced celery in the mix and toasted sesame to finish- over spouted short grain brown rice- home run all around!

Chopped celery leaves on top for garnish- oh yeah!

Excellent variation of the tuna and rice bowls I ate pretty much every day as a broke college student (never mind how many decades ago), and still enjoy today. High quality tuna in water works just fine; I don’t miss the oil, because kewpie mayo (more than 2T for sure!), and the sesame and furikake are the perfect flavor direction. Scallions on top of course. Love the suggestions about flavoring the mayo with kimchi etc. and will definitely experiment many times. Thanks Eric!

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Credits

By Eric Kim

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