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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kombu dashi granules can be replaced by anything? I’m not sure what that is 🙂
not really! you can omit it but the flavour will be lessened.
Oh my goodness. Have been vegan for many years and I missed sushi so much. I stumbled upon this recipe thanks to Google and decided to try it as it had all positive reviews. I am NOT a tomato fan (unless it’s ketchup or salsa, just can’t stand tomatoes on burgers or things like that) but this turned out AMAZING! Could not believe there was no tomato taste. The texture is pretty dang close and the flavors are exactly how I remember. My husband and I devoured it and loved it. I can’t wait to try the eggplant “eel” next. Thank you for your recipes!
I made this tonight and it was out of this world delicious! Thank you, Lisa! My only issue was that my tomatoes congealed a bit and I had to drain the excess before adding the spicy mayo concoction– I am chalking that up to user error and not creator error.
In a slightly hypothetical situation where one would want to make double or triple this recipe and possibly eat it over a few days, how long would the tomatoes in marinade last in the fridge do you think? Asking for a friend. 🙂
Thank you again for creating this epic recipe I can’t wait to try more from your site!
So impressed! For anyone who’s tried Planta sushi before- this totally reminds me of that. It’s totally delicious and so much 1) easier to find and 2) affordable than alternative vegan sashimi on the market!