Learn how to make a plant based version of Maguro Donburi (Tuna Sashimi Rice Bowls) with tomatoes! This tomato ‘tuna’ bowl is easy, refreshing and perfect for the summer.
If there’s one thing I miss the most since going vegan, it’s def fish. Sashimi rice bowls were a summer time fav especially when we visited Japan in smack middle of summer … when it was h o t. 😵💫
🍅 Inspired by a tomato tuna poke bowl I had awhile back, I used a similar concept for these tomato ‘tuna’ rice bowls!
🍚 There are two styles of tuna rice bowls: zuke don & tekka don. Zuke don has marinated tuna pieces over white rice and tekka don is not marinated but served over sushi vinegared rice. So if you prefer a sushi-style bowl you can mix in some sushi vinegar and have sauce on the side.
Ingredients (+Substitutions) for Tomato ‘Tuna’
The ingredients used are very simple and similar to what would be used for traditional tuna sashimi bowls! If you cannot have alcohol, you can omit it but please take note that the flavour will change.
- Roma Tomatoes: Are smooth skinned and long in shape, perfect for making tuna-like shapes.
- Soy Sauce: For umami and flavour. Substitute tamari for gluten free.
- Sake: Helps remove some of that tomato-ey flavour and for flavour. However, it can be omitted.
- Mirin: For a bit of sweetness and flavour. Substitute with 1/4 amount of sugar if needed.
- Neutral oil: Gives it some fattiness and texture.
- Rice vinegar: For flavour.
- Kombu dashi granules: Gives it seafood flavour.
- Nori (seaweed): Again for seafood-like flavour.
To serve, you’ll also need some cooked rice, scallions, toasted sesame seeds and more nori.
How to Make Tomato Tuna
- Make marinade: Add soy sauce, mirin, sake, rice vinegar, neutral oil and kombu dashi granules to a shallow dish and mix to combine.
- Cook tomatoes: Bring a pot of water to a boil. In the meantime, score the top of the tomatoes and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the tomatoes to the pot and cook for 45-60 seconds or until you see the peel slightly coming off. Rotate the tomatoes so that it heats evenly while boiling. Do not overcook. Remove the tomatoes and add to the ice water.
- Skin & cut: Once cooled, peel the skin off the tomatoes. Slice into half and then into quarters. You should have a total of 8 pieces (or 10-12 if you have a large tomato). Remove the inside using a kiwi spoon or melon ball scooper. You should have a total of 200-240g of tomato flesh.
- Marinate: Add the tomatoes to the marinade. Then add ripped pieces of nori on top and mix. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or preferably overnight).
- Serve: When ready, add cooked rice into a bowl and top with nori. Optionally, you can slice the edges of the tomatoes to give it a more tuna-like appearance. Place pieces of tomato tuna over the nori rice and then top with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve with a side salad and miso soup, and enjoy!
Serve alongside a fresh salad and miso soup for a complete refreshing meal!
More vegan seafood recipes to try:
- Vegan Unagi Donburi
- Vegan ‘Salmon’ Teriyaki
- Oyster Mushroom Kaki Fry (Fried Oysters)
- Vegan Oyster Sauce
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
If you recreate this Vegan Tomato ‘Tuna’ Sashimi Bowl 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 ‘Tuna’ Tomato Rice Bowls
- Total Time: 16 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Description
Learn how to make a plant based version of Maguro Donburi (Tuna Sashimi Rice Bowls) with tomatoes! This tomato ‘tuna’ bowl is easy, refreshing and perfect for the summer.
Ingredients
Tomato ‘Tuna’
- 2 medium roma tomatoes
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (30ml)
- 4 tsp sake (20ml)
- 4 tsp mirin (20ml)
- 1 tbsp neutral oil (15ml)
- 1 tsp rice vinegar (5ml)
- 1 1/2 tsp kombu dashi granules (7g)
- 1 sheet nori
For Serving
- cooked rice
- scallions
- roasted sesame seeds
- nori
Instructions
- Make marinade: Add soy sauce, mirin, sake, rice vinegar, neutral oil and kombu dashi granules to a shallow dish and mix to combine.
- Cook tomatoes: Bring a pot of water to a boil. In the meantime, score the top of the tomatoes and prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the tomatoes to the pot and cook for 45-60 seconds or until you see the peel slightly coming off. Rotate the tomatoes so that it heats evenly while boiling. Do not overcook. Remove the tomatoes and add to the ice water.
- Skin & cut: Once cooled, peel the skin off the tomatoes. Slice into half and then into quarters. You should have a total of 8 pieces (or 10-12 if you have a large tomato). Remove the inside using a kiwi spoon or melon ball scooper. You should have a total of 200-240g of tomato flesh.
- Marinate: Add the tomatoes to the marinade. Then add ripped pieces of nori on top and mix. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or preferably overnight).
- Serve: When ready, add cooked rice into a bowl and top with nori. Optionally, you can slice the edges of the tomatoes to give it a more tuna-like appearance. Place pieces of tomato tuna over the nori rice and then top with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve with a side salad and miso soup, and enjoy!
Notes
- Helpful Equipment:
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Category: entree
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: vegan, japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
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I was curious how tomato with rice would taste like and it turned out as nothing I imagined what it would be like! Marinated tomato works so well with rice! It’s so refreshing and so delicious! I had it with little bit of wasabi and it was so good!!! I like how easy it was to make this dish!
Lisa’s recipes truly never disappoint! I haven’t had maguro don since high school and when I tried this it tasted so similar, I was mind blown 🤯
I really love that this recipe was relatively easy to make and it was super quick to make too. I expected this to take a while to make, but was super delighted when I found that it didn’t.
This is hands down one of my fave recipes from her now! 🥰
this is such a fun and refreshing flavor to go with rice!
Never in a million years would I have thought to use this as a tuna alternative, thanks for sharing this recipe!
Amazing recipe, it was easy to follow and it tasted like the real thing.
This was so easy to make! Only marinated for 30 or so minutes because we were so eager to eat it, will def do it longer or overnight next time for more flavor, love this and will be making it again and again.
This tomato “maguro” is so good, I don’t even miss real maguro.
I love this recipe, at first I was skeptical about it because of how great a tomato can be? but boy I was wrong! it is very flavorful and just an umami bomb! I highly recommend it for anyone who wanna make it ~
def 10/10!
Wow! This tastes just like the real thing. I served it to a couple of friends and they were so surprised when I revealed that it wasn’t tuna. One of them said she likes it more than actual spicy tuna! Thanks Lisa for a great recipe! I’ll definitely be making this again.
This was fun to make. Definitely keep a good eye on your tomatoes, because they boil fast. Also think it would be good to make sure they are room temperature before you boil them.
Made this on a whim with my friend and was struck by how simple and delicious this recipe was! Will definitely be making this again, and can’t wait to try the spicy “tuna” rice crisps next! 🤤