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.
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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 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.