Sushi is one of those meals that just seems to taste better when enjoyed at a restaurant. Although it’s not impossible to roll your own, a high-quality platter of sushi requires a delicate hand and an eye for precision. Luckily, there’s a way to enjoy the comforts of sushi without the hassle of rolling any. By combining sushi ingredients in a casserole dish and oven-baking them, you can indulge in a warm, comforting, multi-dimensional sushi bake which delivers that familiar seafood flavor but with none of the fuss.
The dish is made by whipping canned tuna whipped together with mayo, sriracha, cream cheese, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. The mixture is piled atop a bed of white rice, oven-broiled, and adorned with furikake, scallions, and any other of your favorite sushi toppings. The result is a dish with all of the umami-blasted maritime goodness of a high-quality sushi roll without the tedious work that comes with it.
Moreover, by using canned tuna instead of its raw counterpart, sushi night is made all the more convenient. Because it’s pre-cooked, ready-to-eat, requires no special handling, and boasts all of the same health benefits as its freshly-caught counterpart, using canned tuna makes this easy-to-prepare dish even more accessible. In fact, turning it into a sushi bake is also a great way to upgrade canned tuna. The only skill required for a tuna sushi bake is the fine art of throwing ingredients into a baking dish and letting the oven do the heavy lifting.
Tips for making a canned tuna sushi bake
A canned tuna sushi bake walks the line between convenience and decadence. But just because it’s a laid-back dish doesn’t mean that it’s entirely effortless. Keep a few simple tips in mind when assembling yours to achieve a trouble-free, one-pot, sushi-inspired dinner that’s as laid-back as it is luxurious.
Start by selecting a high-quality canned tuna brand. Opting for a premium brand will elevate the flavor and ensure a richer, more satisfying dish — don’t worry, even some high-end cans of tuna are still affordable. Consider using an unsalted can of tuna to give yourself more control over the flavor of the dish. When arranging the layers of the sushi casserole, use cooked rice, as raw grains won’t cook properly when embedded into the dish. Once you’ve topped the rice with your creamy canned tuna mixture and other fixings, use more sriracha and mayo as a finisher that culminates in a golden-brown crust while broiling. If desired, panko breadcrumbs can provide additional crunch.
If you don’t want to use your broiler, baking or air frying works well too. Either way, the sushi bake only takes a few minutes to cook, so once the top layer is browned, remove the sushi casserole from the oven and enjoy. Serve with nori, fresh avocado, and cucumber — et voilà — sushi craving curbed without the frustration of fine-tuning each roll. Don’t forget an ice-cold Sapporo to wash it all down, or pair the sushi bake with sake!
