Learn how to make Spicy Vegan Tomato Tuna that is just like the real deal! Perfect for rice bowls, poke bowls, sushi, ongiri, crispy rice and more.
We’ve been having the tomato tuna rice bowl on repeat since we last shared it and lately we’ve been using the leftovers to make spicy tuna! We usually just make a quick rice bowl or poke bowl but tried it with crispy rice and it’s absolutely delicious.
Ingredients for Spicy Tomato Tuna (+Substitutions)
Tomato Tuna
- 2-3 roma tomatoes (250-300g tomato flesh).
- 2 tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce (35ml)
- 1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar (6ml)
- 1 1/2 tbsp mirin (22ml)*
- 1 1/2 tbsp sake (22ml)*
- 1 tbsp neutral oil (15ml)
- 2 tsp kombu dashi granules
- 1 sheet of roasted nori
Spicy Mayo
- 2 tbsp vegan kewpie mayonnaise (32g)*
- 2-3 tsp sriracha, to taste (10g)*
- 3/4 tsp sesame oil (4ml)
How to Spicy Tomato ‘Tuna’
- Prepare tomatoes: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Score the top of the tomatoes and then place them into the boiling water for 45-60 seconds or until the skin starts to peel off. Rotate the tomatoes to ensure even cooking. Scoop the tomatoes out and place in a bowl of ice water to cool. Peel the tomatoes and then slice in half, and then in half again (making 4 segments). Remove the inner seeds and juices from the tomatoes. You should end with a total of 250-300g of tomato flesh.
- Marinate: Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sake, oil and kombu dashi granules to a shallow dish. Add the pieces of tomato and then tear roasted nori on top. Toss everything together, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight).
- Remove tomatoes from the refrigerator and then chop the tomatoes until it starts to look minced. Strain the tomatoes with a sieve to remove excess liquid.
- Spicy Mayo: Mix the mayonnaise, sriracha and sesame oil in a bowl. Taste and adjust to desired flavour. Add the tomato tuna and mix to combine. Serve as desired and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
- Donburi Rice Bowl: Add over a bed of fresh rice for a spicy tuna bowl!
- Sushi / Maki Sushi: Use in maki sushi or hand rolls.
- Crispy Rice: Make some crispy rice and top it off with the spicy tomato tuna.
For the crispy rice
- To make the crispy rice, take 1 cup of cooked (200g) sushi short grain rice and mix with 1 1/2 tbsp of sushi vinegar. To make a quick sushi vinegar, stir 2 tbsp of rice vinegar + 3 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/8 tsp of salt. Use 1 1/2 tbsp of this mixture to replace.
- Add the rice to a container and press to mold. Cover and refrigerate until cooled and hardened. Once cooled, remove from container and cut into desired pieces. Heat a pan over medium heat with some oil. Add the pieces of rice and cook each side until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes per side). You can also air fry these by brushing them with some oil and air frying at 400 F for 12 minutes, flipping half way through.
- Top with the spicy tomato tuna with some sesame seeds and scallions and enjoy!
More Vegan Seafood to Try!
- Eggplant Unagi Donburi
- Vegan Tofu Fish Fillet
- Vegan Teriyaki ‘Salmon’
- Tomato Tuna Donburi Rice Bowl
- Oyster Mushroom Kaki Fry
- Vegan Chili Shrimps
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
If you recreate this Vegan Spicy ‘Tuna’ recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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Vegan Spicy ‘Tuna’ (Tomato Tuna)
- Total Time: 11 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
Learn how to make Spicy Vegan Tomato Tuna that is just like the real deal! Perfect for rice bowls, poke bowls, sushi, ongiri, crispy rice and more.
Ingredients
Tomato Tuna
- 2–3 roma tomatoes (250-300g tomato flesh).
- 2 tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce (35ml)
- 1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar (6ml)
- 1 1/2 tbsp mirin (22ml)*
- 1 1/2 tbsp sake (22ml)*
- 1 tbsp neutral oil (15ml)
- 2 tsp kombu dashi granules
- 1 sheet of roasted nori
Spicy Mayo
- 2 tbsp vegan kewpie mayonnaise (32g)*
- 2–3 tsp sriracha, to taste (10g)*
- 3/4 tsp sesame oil (4ml)
Instructions
- Prepare tomatoes: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Score the top of the tomatoes and then place them into the boiling water for 45-60 seconds or until the skin starts to peel off. Rotate the tomatoes to ensure even cooking. Scoop the tomatoes out and place in a bowl of ice water to cool. Peel the tomatoes and then slice in half, and then in half again (making 4 segments). Remove the inner seeds and juices from the tomatoes. You should end with a total of 250-300g of tomato flesh.
- Marinate: Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sake, oil and kombu dashi granules to a shallow dish. Add the pieces of tomato and then tear roasted nori on top. Toss everything together, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight).
- Remove tomatoes from the refrigerator and then chop the tomatoes until it starts to look minced. Strain the tomatoes with a sieve to remove excess liquid.
- Spicy Mayo: Mix the mayonnaise, sriracha and sesame oil in a bowl. Taste and adjust to desired flavour. Add the tomato tuna and mix to combine. Serve as desired and enjoy!
Notes
- *Mirin and sake can be omitted but please note the flavour will be slightly different. Add 1/2 tsp of sugar.
- **Substitute regular vegan mayonnaise
- ***You can use any chili sauce of choice such as sriracha, sambal oelek or chili bean paste.
- *Prep time does not include marinating time
- Helpful Equipment:
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Category: entree
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: vegan, japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
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This dish is delicious! My girlfriend is vegan and I am not so we try and find dishes that we both can enjoy. I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy this since I love fish, but surprisingly the combination of ingredients was such a great substitute. From marinating the tomato with seaweed, to the vegan spicy mayo, every choice in the dish was a good one. This was my first dish I have cooked and eaten, created by Lisa, but it definitely won’t be my last! Look forward to trying the other dishes.
I was never the biggest fan of spicy tuna before going vegan, but let me tell you this recipe converted me into a massive fan! I did not make the crispy rice and instead served it over regular sushi rice as well as in a wrapped up sushi roll and both were insanely delicious! My partner was obsessed with spicy tuna rolls before we went vegan and he said he even liked this version better!!! That was a major win in my book. Lisa’s recipes make it so fun and easy to experiment in the kitchen. I can’t wait to try out another!
SOOOOOO good!!! All the stars for Lisa!!! I made my own vegan mayonnaise (soy milk, ACV, flaxseed oil, salt) which was soooo good with the sriracha and sesame oil. I agree with the comments that it looks like spicy tuna but the texture is not tuna, but it really is just absolutely delicious as its own dish!!! ありがとう for taking the time to create this bomb recipeeee 😀
Really good recipe, been using this spicy tuna for poke bowl and sushi and first time to try with crispy rice!
SO DELICIOUS! Really well thought out and so easy to follow. A great alternative if you’re not looking to eat fish. I’m not a tomato person so I was nervous, but the way the tomatoes are prepared… magic!
literally so good- i made this three (ish?) days ago and i am making it again today 🙂 i did not have mirin, sake, or kombu dashi granules- and it was still beyond delicious. so don’t fret if you don’t have all the ingredients, it’s so good regardless. also i just used olive oil as my neutral oil and only let it marinate for 1 hour (foresight is not my strength)
Made this last night for sushi rolls and am a massive fan – can’t wait to make a bigger batch! It’s so flavourful and the texture is very convincing too – even my non-vegan friend was sold on it!
Made this and it tastes like something you’d get at a high end restaurant. The flavors were lovely. I’ll definitely try more of your recipes this one was wonderful.
Absolutely LOVED this! Will make it lots more.. used regular vegan mayo as i didnt have kewpie but will try it next time! Yum yum! Easy to prepare too as long as you just get the ingredients!
Tastes absolutely amazing! This is definitely becoming a staple in my household! <3