RECIPE – Tuna Fried Rice

by Henry Gould – Sept 12th, 2019
This recipe might sound like something you made in college when there was quite literally 2 items left in the cupboard. But never fear! This is a delicious meal you can make week in, week out.
Do you like healthy lunch / dinner ideas you can make in ~30 minutes? Do you like food that is super cheap to prepare (~$6 for 2 people), can be done with minimal ingredients, and will help refuel sore muscles following a grueling #YARDHARD workout?
***huge cheer of people saying YES erupts***
AWESOME!
Fried rice is a blank canvas. You can throw almost anything in and it will likely be good. Use this recipe as a guideline and adjust as your taste dictates, or as you have things in the fridge that need using before they go bad.
Try to opt for tuna canned in oil (Rio Mare Tuna in Olive Oil being one of the best).
If you’re a real fancy pants, you can obviously use fresh tuna, or salmon, or even cod, chopped up very fine, then added to the pan at the same time as the tuna below.
Tuna Fried Rice
- 1 can of oil packed tuna (~150-200g), drained
- 1 cup of cooked and cooled rice (jasmine or sushi rice)
- 4 green onions, sliced finely
- Soy Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 eggs
- 1 leek, green part removed, white part chopped finely
- 1 carrot, chopped finely
- 1 jalapeno, chopped finely
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- 1 pinch of sugar
- Olive oil
- 1 bunch Thai basil (optional)
- Dried Bonito flakes (optional)
First things first, get everything prepped. I mean, everything. Take the soy sauce out of the fridge, chop all the vegetables and put into bowls, crack the eggs. It will make cooking much easier.
Get a large frying pan over medium heat, add some oil, then add the leeks and carrots. Fry for a few minutes until they start to turn brown. Add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno, stir for a second, then add the tuna. Break up the tuna with a spatula until there are no big chunks left.
Crack both eggs into the hot pan, then add the rice. Use your spatula to scrape everything off the bottom of the pan, then do little “chop” motions downward to help break everything up and mix it together. The egg will start to cook with the rice, coating each grain.
Keep cooking, scraping the bottom (so the rice doesn’t stick) then mixing around. After ~5 minutes, sprinkle with a small pinch of sugar, then drizzle over soy sauce; probably more than you think. This is the main seasoning for the rice. Keep stirring, stirring, stirring until everything looks evenly coated. Taste a little bit… does it need more salt? Add more soy sauce.
Turn the heat off, add the green onions and Thai basil (if you’re using it) and stir around just so they begin to wilt a bit. Sprinkle with the Bonito flakes and serve with lime wedges.