Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl Recipe (2024)

This is a favorite lunch go-to at our house. I add sriracha to the mayo mixture, add a little rice wine vinegar to the rice, and serve with sliced cucumber and avocado. Toasted nori strips are a great addition too, makes me feel like I’m eating sushi.

This makes a wonderful and filling comfort bowl as is, but if you like kimchi please do yourself a favor and try mixing the tuna mayo with kimchi stir-fried in a bit of sesame oil (aka kimchi bokkeum)!

Wonderfully easy for someone who is just sick of (55 years)cooking. IMO this could be eaten warm or room temperature; any rice will do.

My wife is Japanese and this is Japanese comfort food that is eaten in our household a couple times a week by her and daughter. In Japanese it is called tsuna-gohan. We never use canned tuna stored in oil, only in water. My wife considers tuna canned in oil inedible. I often add chopped dill pickles and good quality canned corn to mine. And more mayonnaise. As in anything, good quality mayonnaise is a must.

Would canned salmon be good instead of tuna?

Add a little rice vinegar to make this really pop!

This is comfort food for me--my mom is Japanese, and when my first child woke me in the middle of the night the day after her birth, this is what I made for myself. This is a common rice ball flavor in Japan, with the exception of the sesame oil, which I have never used. Also, use Kewpie mayonaise if you can! It makes a difference. Umeboshi (pickled plums) or umeboshi paste provides a contrasting tang, and spooning the rice and some tuna onto nori makes this an improvised hand roll.

Microwave rice! It's fast and comes out right every time in 90 seconds! Comes in sticky and brown rice versions. You could use some of the flavored tuna options that are now available and throw in some cooked vegetable. As Jacques Pepin says, "Let the grocery be your sous chef."

At first glance I giggled seeing this recipe. At second glance, I was intrigued. In my bowl I guess I had my third glance, and I swooned. What a lovely and comforting meal we had last night. My base was warmed Sushi rice, and I also fanned some Avocado slices next to the delish Tuna mixture. Eric Kim is a treasure.

I like to add a squirt of Sriracha, and always some chopped green onions. I lived on this through law school.

Add some spring mix, baby spinach, or bok choy to the bowl & you have a perfect meal!

As Caroline mentioned, kimchi is a wonderful addition to this recipe. Other possibilities include thinly sliced cucumber, carrot, and perilla leaves to get your greens in, or a soft boiled egg, Asian pickles, or spicy sauce. Another thing — you can eat this wrapped in nori sheets as an alternative to sprinkling furikake on top if you’re craving that seaweed flavor.

To answer Mary Beth, I'm not sure of Eric Kim's intentions, but I would make the rice like sushi rice, finishing with rice wine vinegar on hot rice, then leave the bowl (covered) on the kitchen counter for 3-4 hours. That way, the rice would be cool enough not to cook the fish or any ingredients or add-ins but warm enough to have a silky texture. If I were using leftover rice, I would warm it for ten seconds in the microwave. The goal is room-temperature.

Never thought I’d see this recipe here! My mom used to make this for me growing up (Vietnamese household), and I still make it today. Incredibly comforting, cheap and easy thing for lunch. I sometimes make a batch of both rice and tuna so I can have an easy lunch for a few days. Looking forward to trying it with kimchi next time!!

This is delightful. Made a quick pickled onion in rice vinegar while the rice cooked. I served it with chopped cilantro, thinly sliced cucumber, and some avocado. The taste of the sesame – delicious! just wish that I had some pickled ginger on hand.

Can confirm that this is equally, if not more, delicious with brown rice.

Furikake is a great addition to this!

This recipe was so simple, so dazzling in flavor! Would be wonderful served with pasta in place of rice too. Definitely a keeper!

This stupidly good for the amount of work. I look forward to playing w it, but out of the gate, it’s brilliant. Perfect “I don’t want to turn on my stove” dinner…

So easy, so tasty and deliciously filling. I used kewpie mayo and splurged on good tuna to take it to the next level.

Basically swapped or omitted all of the ingredients and still turned out great! Sardines (in olive oil), kewpie mayo, chili crisp, rice vinegar, medium-grain brown rice, and noritama furikake. Also added some spinach for some greens, which wilted nicely into the warm rice. Missing the sesame oil, which I'll have to pick up. Would definitely make again, perhaps with a fried egg.

I love to eat with cucumbers.

The sesame oil is what makes this, who knew a dash of sesame oil could change the whole profile of what I would consider an extra basic tuna salad. Super easy as is or make it fancier with some colorful toppings.

So simple and SO delicious. I followed suggestions from other posters and served with chunks of avocado and cucumber on the side, and added a bit of mirin to the rice. I would definitely make this again.

I used salmon instead of tuna and enjoyed this meal cold. It was so yummy. I also topped it with some chives and coconut aminos.

I make this with kewpie mayo. It's not expensive, but is my go-to choice for mayo in Korean dishes. (This recipe is like Korean Jumeokbap, especially if you add kimchi).

Great! Can use Greek yogurt if you don’t have mayo(I thought it was fine and less fatty) I thought extremely nice !!!! Could almost use as stuffing for seaweed wraps ????!!!

I found this quite bland. The tuna needed balancing texture and flavor. I added more sesame oil and more soy. Probably won't make it again - certainly not as written.

I like to use quinoa instead of rice!

My additions today: pickled red onion, cucumber, yuzu mayo, sriracha, fried shallots. Generous with all measurements. Delicious. What I love about this recipe the most - it has opened my eyes about what tinned fish can become, and how I can nourish myself without paying for take-out. Thank you, Eric Kim and commenters.