These Ahi Tuna Sushi Stacks are a Cactus Club copycat made with a sesame-soy marinade, avocado, cucumber & micro greens.
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How to make this recipe
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Cook sticky rice in a rice cooker or on stovetop according to package directions.
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Once cooked, mix rice vinegar, sugar and salt in the sushi rice. Let cool in fridge at least 30 minutes to an hour.
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Cut tuna steaks into 1/4-inch pieces. Toss tuna with soy sauce, sesame oil, nori strips and sesame seeds.
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Add a bit of tuna to a 1 cup measuring cup, then layer with avocado, cucumber and sticky rice, pressing down hard on sticky rice with the back of a spoon.
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Flip measuring cup upside down on a plate so mixture comes out in a stack-like form.
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Top with microgreens and wonton strips, then serve and enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Avocados – smashed avocado or guacamole will work well.
- Cucumber – cucumber or carrots will give this an authentic sushi taste.
- Microgreens – this is an optional topping for the sushi stack.
- Wonton crisps – use tempura bits or anything else with a crispy texture for extra crunch.
Sushi rice
- Sticky rice – this is highly recommended so that the sushi stacks stick together.
- Rice vinegar – if you’re in a pinch you can leave this out.
- Sugar – if you’re in a pinch you can leave this out.
- Salt (to taste)
Tuna marinade
- Tuna steaks – Feel free to use shrimp, tuna or whatever other type of seafood you enjoy in sushi
- Soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are great alternatives to soy sauce.
- Sesame oil – use avocado oil or olive oil in place of sesame oil but note it won’t be as fragrant.
- Lime juice – use fresh or bottled lime or lemon juice.
- Nori sheet – this will add an authentic taste but leave out if you’re in a pinch.
- Sesame seeds (for garnish)
How to perfect the sushi stack
The best way to get the perfect sushi stack is to assemble it into a measuring cup. This ensures that you get the perfect cylindrical shape that looks professionally made! Start off by filling the measuring cup with the marinaded ahi tuna. Then add in the cucumber and diced avocado followed by the rice. Press down and allow the ingredients to form to the shape of the measuring cup before flipping over to serve on a plate.
Storing and serving
You can store any leftover stacks in the fridge up to 2 or 3 days. After that point, the ahi tuna probably won't be as fresh. Since the tuna is raw, you won't want it to sit too long in the fridge anyway. I serve these sushi stacks cold when I make them fresh the first time and I serve them cold again when eating as leftovers, so there's no need to worry about reheating the next day!
Freezing the sushi rice
I like to make the sushi rice ahead of time to limit the prep time involved in this recipe! What's great, is that sushi rice can be made and kept frozen for up to a year. To make your rice ahead of time, follow the cooking instructions on the package and then wait until the rice cools before freezing in a freezer-safe container. When you're ready to make your sushi stacks, defrost the rice in the fridge overnight and make the rest of this recipe as directed.
More sushi-inspired recipes
Meal prep tools
- Here's where you can order sticky rice.
- This is the low-sodium soy sauce I use.
- You can get black and white sushi sesame seeds here.
- Here's where you can get nori sheets.
- And here's where you can get wonton crisps!
- I use the 1-cup measuring cup from this set – metal cups make it so much easier to dump all the ingredients out into a stack.
Ahi Tuna Sushi Stack (Cactus Club Copycat)
Ingredients
- 2 avocados, diced
- 1/2 cucumber, diced
- 1 cup microgreens
- 1/2 cup wonton crisps (you can get them in the salad dressing isle at your local grocery store)
Sushi rice
- 2 cups cooked sticky rice (usually 1 cup dry sticky rice, 2 cups water)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Tuna marinade
- 2 medium-sized tuna steaks
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 nori sheet, cut into thin strips
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Cook sticky rice in a rice cooker or on stovetop according to package directions. Mix in rice vinegar, sugar and salt once done cooking. Let cool in fridge at least 30 minutes to an hour (I make it the day ahead then let it sit in the fridge overnight).
- Cut tuna steaks into 1/4-inch pieces. I find it easiest to freeze tuna for about 1 hour to get them to harden up so it's easier to cut them, but you can definitely cut them fresh if you're in a pinch. Toss tuna with soy sauce, sesame oil, nori strips and sesame seeds.
- Try your best to divide all ingredients in four. Add a bit of tuna to a 1 cup measuring cup, then layer with avocado, cucumber and sticky rice, pressing down hard on sticky rice with the back of a spoon. Flip measuring cup upside down on a plate so mixture comes out in a stack-like form. Top with microgreens and wonton strips, then serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Denise says
Thank you so much! I conquered my fear of making sushi it turned out great, my daughter was a sushi chef now in the medical field. So I made a treat for her
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you both enjoyed! 🙂
Christina says
What type of measuring cup did you use? I couldn’t get mine to stack.
Taylor Stinson says
A 1 cup measure works best here! It may help to spray some cooking spray inside and then tightly pack everything in before flipping over and tapping hard overtop to get it to all come out.
Ray says
Hello, your video says to use lime juice for the tuna marinade but the written recipe doesn’t state it, can you please clarify the quantity you used, thanks.
Also, how long do you let the tuna sit in the marinade before eating?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Ray – so sorry, it’s 1 tbsp. The recipe has been updated to reflect that. There is no marinating time for the tuna so you can just mix it up and then assemble the stacks as described.
Jessica says
Where do you buy the tuna steak? It looks so tasty. I want to make this!
Thank you for sharing this!
Jessica
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Jessica – you can often find it in the freezer section of your local grocery store with all the other fish, but sometimes you can find it at the fish counter. I typically buy tuna steak at Loblaws but local seafood shops should also have it.
Anna says
Quick question about tuna. Do you sear tuna after defrosting or just marinate and cube raw.
Is Costco frozen tuna safe to eat raw?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Anna – in this recipe you marinate the raw tuna! I would say that Costco tuna is safe to eat, but it’s always best to read the packaging and do your own due diligence on food safety. Without me seeing the exact product in question it’s hard for me to say for sure.
White Rock Dan says
Wow this turned out great! I used minute rice instead of sushi rice and it was still really yummy. I also went a little heavy on the soya so the tuna was kind of dark but tasted amazing! FYI Costco sells frozen tuna steaks.
I tried stacking everything in the measuring cup but I failed to get it to come out in a cylinder shape. After two attempts I improvised and took a piece of aluminum foil, folded it in half to thicken it up the wrapped it a few times around a wine bottle. Holding the foil tight against the bottle I taped around the foil a couple of times to keep the round shape then slid it off the bottle. I then stacked my ingredients inside one by one and tamped down each level with the flat side of a meat thermometer! It’s all I had handy to push things down. Then I gently pulled up my foil mold. It was amazing! It came out in a perfect stack. I couldn’t find won ton wrappers so I used frozen spring roll wrappers sprayed with Pam, salted and baked until crisp. I sprinkled these on top with pea shoots and garnished with black sesame seeds. OMG did this ever look and taste like a high quality restaurant meal! Thanks for the recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe Dan and thank you for sharing your tips to getting the stack just right, that’s quite creative!!! Also love the idea of baking the spring roll wrappers. Thank you for sharing your review 🙂
Brittany says
Made this tonight…SO GOOD! Added sriracha to the tuna marinade and put the stack over a bed of mixed baby lettuce! Thank so for the recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy to hear that Brittany!!! Thanks so much for sharing with me! 🙂