How to Make Spicy Tuna for Sushi at Home! (2024)

What is spicy tuna?

Spicy tuna refers to a preparation of fresh, raw, sushi-grade tuna that is a staple in Japanese cuisine. It’s a dish made up of diced or minced sashimi-grade tuna flavored with a spicy sauce. Plain, raw slices of tuna served by itself is known as “sashimi”, while the spicy sauce is what distinguishes spicy tuna from tuna sashimi.

Ingredients for sushi spicy tuna

• Sashimi-grade Tuna: Be sure to purchases fresh, high-quality sashimi tuna intended for raw consumption. Look for tuna steaks or fillets that are bright red in color with no discoloration or browning.
• Sriracha: This chili sauce provides the spicy kick. Look for bottles with simple ingredients like chili peppers, garlic, vinegar, and sugar.
• Chili Oil: This adds an extra layer of heat and richness. Check for chili oils made with high-quality ingredients like sesame or vegetable oil infused with chilies.
• Masago (Capelin Roe): These tiny, bright orange fish eggs add a briny pop of flavor and texture. Find them in the refrigerated or frozen section of Asian markets.
• Scallions: Use the white and light green parts only for a mild onion flavor. Choose green onions with crisp, unblemished coloring.
• Sesame Seeds: Toasted sesame seeds contribute nuttiness and crunch. Check for seeds that are uniform in color and size.
• Japanese Mayonnaise: This richer, creamier mayo makes a tangy dipping sauce. Asian brands like Kewpie are ideal but any high-quality mayo will work.

Recipe variations

• Spicy Salmon: Swap out the sashimi tuna for sashimi salmon and you’ve got spicy salmon sushi.
• Spicy Yellowtail Sushi: Use diced fresh yellowtail or hamachi instead of tuna.
• Wallet Friendly Spicy Tuna: Make “poor man’s” spicy tuna salad by using canned tuna, such as albacore tuna in water, instead of raw tuna. Just be sure to drain the tuna thoroughly before using.
• Spicy Cooked Shrimp: Instead of raw tuna, use cooked and chilled co*cktail shrimp.

How to make Spicy Tuna

Sushi tuna is incredibly easy to make at home and only requires a handful of ingredients!

1. Prepare the spicy tuna sauce. In a medium sized bowl, combine sriracha with chili oil and a pinch of sea salt.
2. Prepare the spicy tuna mixture. To the sauce, add diced sashimi-grade tuna, masago, scallions and sesame seeds. Gently mix everything together. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes for best flavor.
3. Prepare the spicy mayonnaise. In a small bowl, combine Japanese mayonnaise with sriracha. Mix well.
4. Serve. Drizzle the spicy mayonnaise over the tuna mixture and enjoy!

Expert tips for the best success!

• Use high-quality, sashimi-grade or sushi-grade tuna for the best quality and freshest flavor.
• It’s easiest to dice raw tuna from a frozen state. I recommend flash-freezing the tuna so it’s easier to uniformly dice into cubes.
• The star of this sushi recipe is the tuna, so be sure to let it shine by dicing the raw tuna into larger bite-size pieces and finely mincing any flavoring ingredients, such as scallions
• Be sure to let the prepared spicy tuna mixture sit in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to marry and meld.
• I highly recommend making the spicy mixture to your specific taste. You can easily adjust the spice level by increasing or decreasing the sriracha or chili oil. Or try adding more sesame oil if you prefer a stronger nutty flavor.

serving spicy toro

My favorite thing about making this sushi recipe for spicy tuna at home? There are so many fun, creative ways you can serve it! Below are a few serving suggestions and different preparation ideas to get your culinary juices flowing:

Traditional serving suggestions

• Spicy Tuna Roll: Make sushi rolls using a sushi mat, nori, rice, and spicy tuna as the filling.
• Tuna Temaki: If you prefer your hands to chopsticks, make hand rolls with sheet of nori, vinegar sushi rice, and veggies. Serve with cucumber and rice vinegar salad on the side for a light, yet filling meal.
• Poke Bowl: Serve sushi spicy tuna poke bowl style over sushi rice with julienne carrots, edamame beans, avocado wedges, seaweed salad, masago, furikake, and plenty of toasted sesame seeds. I like to also add some herbs such as cilantro, chives, or mint for freshness; but, you do you!
• Sushi Tuna Burrito: Spread the raw tuna, sushi rice, and slices of avocado down the center of a sheet of nori. Add shredded cabbage, pickled jalapenos, and carrots and roll up into a burrito.
• Onigirazu – Sushi Sandwiches: If you’re looking for a filling meal, consider making tuna sushi sandwiches where the nori paper acts as the “bread”, with layers of rice, raw tuna, and various fresh vegetables as the filling.
• Tuna Crispy Rice: Top bite-size crispy sushi rice with the raw fish mixture, drizzle with spicy mayo, and serve with soy sauce for dipping.

Serving ideas to inspire

• Sushi Canapés: Slice a seedless cucumber up into thick rounds, top with tuna, drizzle with spicy sauce, and dust with black sesame seeds for a simply delicious appetizer idea.
• Spicy Spring Rolls: Roll the spicy sushi mixture inside of rice paper wraps for portable snacking.
• Tuna Lettuce Wraps: Keep things light, healthy, and refreshing by using the tuna sushi as a filling for lettuce wraps and lettuce cups.
• Spicy Tuna Sushi Bites: Roll the tuna mixture into small balls (about the size of a golf ball), coat the balls in panko, and fry or bake until crispy.
• Spicy Sushi Nachos: Cut wontons into triangles and bake in the oven until crispy. Top with the tuna mixture, your favorite nacho toppings like jalapeños and quick pickled red onions, and drizzle the spicy mayo over the top.

Storing leftovers

Since sushi tuna is make with fresh raw fish, it’s best if you enjoy this recipe right away.

However, you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 day or 2 days at the very most.

Did you make this recipe?

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