Spicy Tuna Bowl

Those of you who are sushi lovers are going to love this recipe. It’s not actually sushi, more like a rice bowl with raw fish (like the salmon-tuna bowl they serve at Kazu in Montreal). The most important thing here is to get sushi-grade tuna – we got ours frozen at Central Market, but if there are no stores that sell it in your area, you can order it online as well. Raw tuna really is a beautiful thing; I even think it might be one of my favourite colors. I didn’t make it too spicy, but the Engineer added sriracha sauce to his share. We both loved this meal; it’s more expensive than chicken, sure, but much less expensive than a sushi dinner! This makes 2 generous servings.

For the spicy tuna
1 slab of raw sushi-grade tuna OR 1 package (about 1 cup) of pre-ground raw tuna belly
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp mayonnaise or veganaise
chili oil or sriracha sauce to taste - add ¼ tsp at a time until you reach your desired heat level

Dice the tuna in small pieces and then chop it as finely as you can. Place it in a bowl and mix in the scallions, mayonnaise, chili oil or sriracha, and mix well.

For the bowls
2 cups cooked rice of your choice - sushi rice or brown rice is fine
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
Toppings of your choice (see below)
Soy sauce (optional)

Cook the rice and mix in the rice vinegar. Place rice in a deep, wide bowl. Add the spicy tuna on top of the rice and then add your choice of toppings. Add soy sauce if you desire.

Suggested toppings
julienned raw carrots
julienned cucumber
fresh sprouts, such as daikon sprouts
pickled ginger
shiso leaves
umeboshi (pickled plum)
thinly sliced avocado
thin strips of nori seaweed sheets
roasted sesame seeds
mushrooms such as enoki or shiitake