These Miso Sesame Tuna Rice Bowls are filled with seared ahi tuna, stir fried veggies and a savoury miso sauce topped with fresh avocado!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Tuna steaks – this dish would be great with sushi-grade or cooked salmon.
- Olive oil – coconut oil or any neutral oil like canola oil or grapeseed oil will also work.
- Sesame seeds – use white or black sesame seeds or a combination of the two.
- Jasmine rice – any white rice or brown rice would be good in these bowls.
- Broccoli – use fresh or frozen broccoli or replace it with another vegetable of your choice.
- Carrot – swap out for another veggie of your choice.
- Red pepper – swap out for another veggie of your choice.
- Snap peas – snow peas or green beans will also work.
- Avocado – use sliced, diced or even mashed avocado or leave this out altogether.
- Scallions – substitute for chives or leave this out altogether.
Miso sesame sauce
- Sesame oil – use grapeseed oil or olive oil instead.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Honey – brown sugar or agave will also help sweeten up the sauce.
- White miso soybean paste – add a bit more soy sauce if you don’t have any white miso paste.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Sriracha – Sambal Oelek will help bring the spice or you can leave this out for a milder flavour.
How to make this a tuna rice bowl
Step 1: Prep your ingredients.
Cook the rice, chop up the veggies, and whisk together the ingredients for the miso-sesame sauce.
Step 2: Coat the tuna.
Coat the tuna steak in sesame seeds and season with salt.
Step 3: Sauté the veggies.
Add the veggies to a skillet and cook with half the sauce.
Step 4: Sear the tuna.
Sear the tuna for 45 seconds per side, then lightly cook the ends. Remove from heat and cut into thin slices against the grain.
Step 5: Assemble your bowls.
Add some rice and stir fry veggies to each bowl. Top with sliced avocado and seared tuna.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Garnish the bowls with sesame seeds and scallions, pour the reserved sauce and soy sauce over top, and serve!
Variations of this tuna rice bowl
There are a few different ways you can customize your tuna and rice bowl to make it your own:
- Use a different grain: I typically use jasmine rice, but you can use any rice of your choice like brown rice, coconut rice, sushi rice or even quinoa.
- Try another protein: If you don't have any tuna, these bowls would also be delicious with sushi-grade or cooked salmon.
- Mix up the veggies: Add any other veggies of your choice like green beans, baby corn, bok choy, mushrooms, zucchini, water chestnuts, cabbage or snow peas.
- Switch up the sauce: Try topping these bowls with carrot ginger dressing, habanero sauce, mango salsa or spicy mayo.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like making this recipe with seared tuna steaks, but if all you have on hand is canned or jarred tuna, you can definitely try it out. Keep in mind that the flavour will be slightly different and you won't need to cook the tuna. I'd recommend choosing canned or jarred tuna in oil, as it makes it a lot smoother than tuna in water.
I keep the toppings pretty simple for this tuna and rice bowl with sesame seeds, scallions and fresh avocado. Feel free to add on any toppings of your choice like wonton strips, edamame, cucumber, nori strips and even a fried egg for added protein!
You can eat these bowls either warm or cold – it's all a matter of preference. If you want your bowls to be warm, reheat the rice and veggies separately. You can try reheating the tuna in a skillet on the stovetop, but it might overcook, so it's best to serve the tuna steaks cold.
Storing and reheating
Store all the ingredients for your tuna rice bowl separately in the fridge in airtight glass containers for up to 3 days. The rice and stir fried veggies can be stored together because they will reheat well.
When you’re ready to enjoy your bowls, assemble them fresh. Reheat the veggies in a pan on the stovetop and the rice in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. I don't recommend reheating the tuna, as it will likely overcook. You can try reheating it in a skillet, but it still tastes good served cold! Top with fresh avocado and sauce then dig in.
Freezing the tuna steaks
Unfortunately, this tuna rice bowl recipe doesn’t freeze well as a whole, but you can freeze the tuna steaks. Store them in an airtight glass container or a freezer-safe Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. The night before you make your bowls, stick them in the fridge overnight to defrost them serve them with fresh toppings.
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Miso Sesame Tuna Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 tuna steaks
- 1 tbsp olive or coconut oil
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 cup cooked jasmine rice
- 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 cup snap peas
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 3 scallions, sliced
Miso sesame sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp white miso (soybean) paste (if you don't have miso paste, sub in 2 tbsp soy sauce)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
Instructions
- Cook jasmine rice according to package directions in a rice cooker or on the stovetop (usually 1 cup rice and 1 1/4 cup water). Chop and prepare veggies and whisk ingredients together under the miso-sesame sauce heading.
- Coat piece of tuna in sesame seeds and season with a bit of salt. Set aside.
- Add veggies to a large skillet, cooking over med-high heat with half of the sauce.
- Meanwhile, heat olive/coconut oil over high heat in a small skillet. Once oil starts to smoke, add tuna to the pan, cooking for 45 seconds each side (time this on your phone or a kitchen timer). Sear the ends of the tuna for a couple seconds. You basically want to get a good sear on either side and then lightly cook the ends. Remove from heat and cut into thin slices against the grain with a very sharp knife.
- Add jasmine rice to each bowl, then add stir fry veggies. Top with fresh sliced avocado and divide tuna among bowls. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions. Pour reserved sauce (if any) and/or soy sauce overtop of tuna and serve!
Comments & Reviews
Cheryl says
I am wondering if you would recommend marinating the tuna in the sauce prior to cooking it? I have a recipe for Miso Black Cod and the cod is marinated for 24 hours. I found this recipe and I have some frozen Ahi so would like to try it.
Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
The sauce will burn if you marinate the tuna with it and then sear it. The tuna doesn’t need the marinade, it’s flavourful enough with salt and sesame seeds and then you have the flavourful stir fry to go with it.
Kim says
We’ve made this recipe multiple times. The sauce is fabulous and it’s a great recipe for cleaning out the veggie drawer.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy it’s a keeper 🙂 Thanks for your review, Kim!
Deanna fuller says
The Best fish,rice and vegetable recipes , i make twice a week.
Kylie says
Delicious. Would happily make this again
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Steven C says
Great recipe! I cook a lot of Asian food and this is a great spin on the classic seared Ahi Tuna. The only change I made was to sub 1 TBSP Mirin for 1 TBSP of the honey. Added a few other veggies. The white miso worked great in this recipe. Thanks!