Unlike the top two Australian favourite sushi, the filling of Spicy Tuna Rolls is raw fish. But the spiciness from the sriracha makes the diced raw tuna easier to eat for those who might not be familiar with raw fish.
As mentioned in my Sushi Rolls Recipe Series, Spicy Tuna Rolls are the 3rd most popular sushi in Australia after California Rolls and Tempura Prawn Rolls, and the 2nd most popular sushi in the US. Among the fusion sushi, it is perhaps the closest to the traditional Japanese sushi roll.
A traditional sushi roll filled with raw tuna is called tekka maki, which you can find in my recipe Norimaki. Spicy Tuna Roll must have been inspired by tekka maki, by simply adding sriracha to the chopped sashimi tuna.
Introducing 2 methods of rolling sushi rolls
When I travelled to San Francisco in November last year, I went to a traditional Japanese sushi restaurant called Sakana Sushi Bar & Grill. I sat at the counter so that I could see how the chef made the California rolls that I had ordered.
California roll served at the Japanese restaurant.
To my surprise, he made the sushi roll in quite a different way to how I made it. Maybe because he is a professional chef, his method looked much easier than my method. So I tried his way of making Spicy Tuna Rolls.
As you can see in my video, California Rolls and Tempura Prawn Rolls, I place a sheet of nori with rice on a sushi rolling mat, then use the rolling mat to roll the rice.
On the other hand, the sushi chef rolled the rice by hand without using a sushi rolling mat. Only after making a hand-rolled sushi roll, he put the mat over it and pressed down to shape a round sushi roll.
Left: Rolling sushi by hand first. right: Rolling sushi using a rolling mat.
I am not sure if he uses this method only for uramaki sushi (I wish I ordered standard sushi rolls with nori outside to check it out!), but my gut feel is that he rolls sushi rolls with nori outside using a rolling mat.
I find that rolling the sushi by hand first, then shaping the roll with a rolling mat is easier than using a rolling mat from the beginning. However, the rice of the sushi roll made using the chef’s method is not pressed as firm as those rolled using a rolling mat. But it is easier to roll, for sure.
Left: Rolled by hand first, then a rolling mat to finish. Right: Rolled using a rolling mat.
What’s in My Spicy Tuna Rolls
I made two long rolls coated in roasted white sesame seeds.
- Sushi rice
- Yaki nori
- Roasted white sesame seeds.
Spicy Tuna
- Sashimi quality tuna
- Sriracha
- Finely chopped green onions.
- Roasted white sesame seeds (optional).
Some recipes mix mayonnaise with the sriracha to give a richer flavour to the tuna.
Tools
- Sushi rolling mat wrapped in cling wrap to prevent the rice grains from sticking to the mat.
- A small bowl of water with 1 tablespoon of vinegar to wet your hands when handling the rice.
- A sharp kitchen knife – preferably a thin knife so that the surface area of the knife is minimal when cutting through the rolled rice.
- Wet kitchen towel to wipe the knife before cutting through the rolled rice. This will prevent the rice grains sticking to the knife.
How to Make Spicy Tuna Rolls
I included two methods of rolling Spicy Tuna Rolls – my original method (Method 1) and the method I saw at the Japanese sushi restaurant in San Francisco (Method 2). See the video.
Method 1:
- Mix the Spicy Tuna ingredients in a bowl.
- Spread sushi rice over a sheet of yaki nori on a rolling mat.
- Scatter white sesame seeds over the rice.
- Turn the rice with yaki nori over so that the yaki nori is on top.
- Place the spicy tuna on the yaki nori.
- Roll the rice with fillings using the rolling mat as a guide.
- Unroll the mat and transfer the sushi roll to a cutting board.
- Cut the spicy tuna roll into 8 pieces.
Method 2:
- Mix the Spicy Tuna ingredients in a bowl.
- Spread sushi rice over a sheet of yaki nori on a cutting board.
- Scatter white sesame seeds over the rice.
- Turn the rice with yaki nori over so that the yaki nori is on top.
- Place the spicy tuna on the yaki nori.
- Roll the rice with fillings using your hands.
- Place the sushi rolling mat over the sushi roll and press firmly.
- Remove the mat and cut the spicy tuna roll into 8 pieces.
Yumiko
Watch How To Make It
Spicy Tuna Rolls are made of raw fish. But the spiciness from the sriracha makes the diced raw tuna easier to eat for those who might not be familiar with raw fish. In this recipe, I will show you two ways of making sushi rolls.
See the video.
Total Time does not include making sushi rice.
- 240g/8.5oz sushi rice (note 1)
- 1 sheet yaki nori (roasted seaweed sheet), halved
- 1 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
- 120g/4.2oz sashimi quality tuna cut into 7mm/¼" cubes (note 2)
- 2 tsp sriracha (note 3)
- 1 tbsp green onion (note 4)
- 1 tsp roasted white sesame seeds (optional)
- A sushi rolling mat (bamboo mat) wrapped in cling wrap (note 5)
- A cup of water mixed with 1 tablespoon of vinegar
- A sharp knife
- A wet kitchen towel to wipe the knife
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Mix the Spicy Tuna ingredients in a bowl.
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Place a piece of yaki nori on a sushi rolling mat.
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Wet your hands with the vinegar water in the bowl, take ½ of the sushi rice and make an oval ball.
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Place the rice in the centre of the yaki nori sheet and spread the rice in all directions, covering the entire yaki nori. Ensure that the rice evenly covers the yaki nori sheet, and do not press the rice down too hard.
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Sprinkle roasted white sesame seeds all over the rice.
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Turn the rice with yaki nori over, facing the yaki nori up, and place it to the edge of the rolling mat closer to you.
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Place half of the spicy tuna in the middle (note 6).
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Using the thumb and index finger of both hands, hold the end of the mat and lift it up.
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Keeping the thumbs on the mat, place your fingers on the fillings firmly. While placing these fingers on the fillings, roll the bamboo mat away from you.
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When the edge of the rolling mat is at the top, let go of your fingers on the filling and keep rolling slowly until the edge of the rolling mat reaches the other end of the rice.
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By now, the mat should be completely covering the sushi roll. Don't roll the end of the mat into the rice!
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Press the rolling mat around the sushi roll gently but firmly.
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To completely roll the rest of the rice, hold the roll by placing one hand over the mat, then pull the end of the mat with the other hand a few centimetres away from you so that the sushi inside the mat rolls a further 90 degrees or so.
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Using both hands, gently but firmly press the mat over the sushi, then unroll the mat.
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Place the sushi roll on the plate/cutting board with the overlapping seam line down.
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Go to the instructions for Cutting Sushi Roll.
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Place a piece of yaki nori on a cutting board.
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Wet your hands with the vinegar water in the bowl, take ½ of the sushi rice and make an oval ball.
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Place the rice in the centre of the yaki nori sheet and spread the rice in all directions, covering the entire yaki nori. Ensure that the rice evenly covers the yaki nori sheet, and do not press the rice down too hard.
-
Sprinkle roasted white sesame seeds all over the rice.
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Turn the rice with yaki nori over, facing the yaki nori up, and place it to the edge of the rolling mat closer to you.
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Place half of the spicy tuna in the middle (note 7).
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Wet your hands.
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Using both hands, lift the edge of the rice closer to you, then start rolling the rice with your hand (see the video), trying to roll as tightly as you can. It is OK to have small gaps of rice on the surface.
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When your roll reaches to the other end of the rice, roll the sushi roll to make the surface smooth.
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Place the sushi rolling mat over the sushi roll and press the sushi roll gently but firmly with your both hands, then remove the rolling mat.
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Go to the instructions for Cutting Sushi Roll.
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Wipe a sharp kitchen knife with a wet towel to give moisture to the knife. This will prevent the knife from sticking to the rice, resulting in a clean cut. Wipe the knife every time before cutting the sushi roll.
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Cut the roll in half, then cut each half-length roll in half, then cut each piece in half again. You should have 8 small pieces.
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Transfer the Spicy Tuna Rolls to a serving plate and serve with soy sauce.
1. Please refer to Temakizushi (Hand Rolled Sushi) for how to make sushi rice.
2. The size of the cubes can be a bit larger but 1cm/⅜" cubes would be too big. You can buy sashimi tuna that is already sliced if you wish.
Depending on the type of tuna you use, the colour of the flesh varies a lot. Bluefin tuna for example makes the filling very dark red, while the colour of the yellowfin tuna is much lighter.
Instead of using tuna, you can use salmon sashimi, which is less expensive. But you should call it Spicy Salmon Rolls.
3. Sriracha is a spicy and slightly sour sauce from Thailand. You can buy a bottle of sriracha at supermarkets as well as Asian grocery stores.
4. The number of avocado slices you need depends on the size of your avocado. You need to connect 2-3 slices to make 19cm/7½" long per roll.
5. This is to prevent the rice grains from sticking to the mat.
6. The filling should be placed slightly closer to you. You should also put less tuna on both ends. This is because the tuna gets pushed outward when the rice is rolled.
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