Ways to spice up a can of tuna? [Question]
(Sorry in advance for the lack of proper tags, I’m not sure how to add them on mobile)
So I tend to eat a can of tuna once or twice a week, usually with just a little salt, pepper and a dab of kewpie mayo and stuffed into onigiri. Are there any spices or sauces I can add to make it more interesting? Or any other easy tuna recipes I can make for one, preferably with rice? I really enjoy spicy foods and fermented/pickled things, but I’m not sure the best ways to combine that with something like tuna.
try adding dill and capers, maybe a dash of lemon juice or Worcestershire sauce.
I keep seeing capers, what are they like? Are they similar to olives? I’ve never had anything with capers before, but I like dill, pickles, olives of all kinds so it seems like it’s up my alley
They're like tiny extra-salty olives. I use them in homemade tartar sauce.
Yeah you’d probably like them if youre into pickles and olives. They are a pickled bud of a plant, cant really describe what they taste like other than “like capers.” They’re bitter and kinda floral I guess? Anyway, a good paring with fish.
I like to add some horseradish paste to this, for extra zing
Use Cajun seasoning powder (Tony chacheres is my go to), and lemon pepper, a large spritz of lemon, and mix Frank's red hot in with your mayo (I've not tried Kewpie Mayo, maybe you don't want to pollute it). Some red chili flakes and Italian seasoning, maybe some garlic or onion powder, is my tuna mixture for tuna melts.
(I am in no way a chef, but this is what I make when it's my turn to cook)
As a person who's grown up in Cajun country, Slap yo mama is better, it has less salt and more seasoning, and jrs available on Amazon
I want to get this just to have in my kitchen counter for a chuckle
My go-to can-of-tuna meal is two 5-oz cans (or one 12-oz can), a heavy dollop of mayo, and a spoonful of sweet relish. Stir it all up, serve in a bowl.
This used to be my standard recipe for tuna fish sandwiches, but then I figured, why add bread? That's just extra calories. I'd rather have a bit more mayo than two slices of dry bread.
EDIT: I prefer two 5-oz cans because I squeeze out all the water from the cans (open with can opener, use lid to compress and squeeze out water) and it's harder to squeeze out most of the water from the large 12-oz can. Two smaller cans works better. I don't like my tuna watery. My wife does, though; she says it adds a stronger tuna-y flavor to the dish.
Sweet relish sounds very strange in a good way. I’ll have to try that!
For something totally different: tuna patties
Crush crackers into crumbs. Set aside approximately 1/3-1/4 to bread patties. Put remainder into a bowl. Add egg and drained tuna. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce if desired. Mix together and form patties. (I usually get 2 to 4 patties per can.) Coat outside with cracker crumbs, fry in oil until outer crackers are golden brown. Serve and eat.
Can also be made with canned salmon. My kids like eating them with ketchup or steak sauce. This is actually what I'll be making for supper tomorrow night. You could totally eat this up with spicy ketchup.
I make the same with dijon mustard and lemon juice in place of the sauce. Always a hit.
Soy sauce, chili sauce, chili crisps, rice vinegar, curry powder, or any combination of them. Adding scallions or grapes is also good (maybe not both, never tried it).
Lemon juice, pepper, and parmesan is also good.
Both of the above assume some mayo is used as a base binder.
Basically fat, acid, salt, and heat (in this case spice, but you can also add bread crumbs and egg to make tuna cakes)
Chili crisps! I hadn’t thought of that with tuna, I like to add them to my eggs. Do you have a go to brand? I like the laoganma, but I think it would be too chunky for tuna?
Lao gan ma is my favorite. I like to toast my bread, so the crunchy parts don't bother me.
Lee kum kee is also good, or doubanjiang (sometimes spelled tobanjan) is also nice. Doubanjiang might be the generic name for Lee kum kee.
Or make your own. It's not hard, easy to make a big batch, but it's not as good as Lao Gan ma.
If you're already putting it into onigiri, try adding pickled plum or pickled ginger
Probably not what you're looking for but also a neat camping trick so here it is.
Partially open the lid, stuck a folded paper towel inside it so it soaks up the oil and light it on fire. It'll burn for several minutes and you can use that heat to cook something else.
At the end remove the paper towel and the tuna will have been cooked nicely.
Not what I’m looking for, but still super interesting! I’m looking to camp more this year, I’ll have to try this!
There are more advanced techniques to turn a can of tuna into a stove you can look up, it's surely a nice trick to show off.
When I was living on the road, I used to enjoy making what I'd call "Poor Boys".
Tuna + Mayo. Put it in a hotdog bun, along with a leaf of lettuce.
Why on earth a hot dog bun? I’m very confused. I love hot dog buns though so I’ll give it a try!
It's cheaper than a hoagie.
This was my college-era budget-stretcher:
Mix into 1 can of tuna (in water), drained ...
... and serve with toast or crackers.
*These are my brands. Just use whatever you got.
Do you drain the water before mixing?
Yes.
Take a look at the flavored pouches of tuna. They're comparable price to the cans, but they don't need to be drained.
Maybe add some sliced grapes or chopped walnuts? Or if you want something fermented/pickled maybe add some chopped up kimchi? I bet some radish kimchi would give it a nice crunch
Another fruit/nut combo to try are craisins and slivered almonds. I'm not a fan of raisins unless they're in cinnamon bread or bagels, but I love substituting craisins in salads and other savory dishes that call for raisins.
Swap you can of tuna with salmon, but don't tell yourself.
lol I just recently learned canned salmon was a thing, so you can imagine what will be in my grocery cart this weekend. Love salmon.
I used to use tuna to make my typical Mac and cheese more filling so you can go that route.
However, since you were mentioning rice I would add some kimchi, rice wine vinegar and sesame seeds.
Kimchi, apple, and tuna is excellent. It's crunchy and perfect.
Apple in savory dishes is underrated. We make a great sausage and apple filling for squashes in the fall
Agreed, but with fish? That sounds… strange lol but I’ll try it!
Garlic salt.
Fermented and spicy - how about some gochujang? It's like miso, but a Korean version with chili. Mix it with some good sesame oil and a splash of rice vinegar to lighten it up. Then put it with the tuna in your onigiri like you would the mayo. It's already salty, so no need to add salt.
Gochuhang really isn't like miso except in that they're both fermented pastes. It is delicious, however.
If any readers have a Korean grocery near them, the Korean domestic brands not only look and taste 10x better, they have all kinds of fun flavors.
This being one of them!
I do, but the labels all being in Korean is very overwhelming. Do you have any advice for navigating? I’m pretty adventurous so if need be I can just grab a few and roll the dice. I just hate to be wasteful
I feel so dumb lol how could I have forgotten about gochujang, I use it like four times a week. Thanks!
Pickle some red onions to go with it. Drop in a chili or two into the brine for some spice.
If you want to get really crazy, try making your own mayo, too. It's not as hard as you think and you can control the flavors.
Sounds like tuna salad, which is delicious. Add spring onion or red onion or whatever oniony thing you want. Possibly a bit of celery if you're into that (small pieces so it's not stringy).
Try some citrus zest and/or juice. The juice is only if the rice isn't too acidic already.
Oh, and if you're into spice, sriracha goes on a lot of different things - it is chili sauce with vinegar and garlic, which seems like a good fit. If that isn't your thing, you can still bring the spice level up with cayenne or whatever chili flake. "Chili powder" could work but often has some un-onigiri-like extra spices.
Grew up in the southern US where we pretty much treated canned tuna as a conduit for mayonnaise & an excuse to eat ritz crackers for dinner.
Given that, I took to just adding diced tomatoes to the mix, which at least gave the meal a hint of nutritional value.
Not sure how well that combo works with onigiri, but thought I’d put it out there.
For something in the other direction, try chopping dates and adding them to your tuna.
I used to eat a pasta sauce with canned tuna that also had onion, yoghurt (or cream) and capers. Depending on the amount of effort you want to put in, maybe just adding some capers might work :)
BBQ sauce. Tastes like pulled pork.