Tuna Mayo Deopbap (Korean Tuna Rice Bowl)

INGREDIENTS FOR DEOPBAP

• Tuna – Can use other canned fish such as canned salmon or sardines in oil
• Rice – Most of the time, I like to use sushi rice for the recipe, but you can also use jasmine rice as well.
• Kewpie Mayo – Japanese mayo really makes this deopbap recipe. I prefer it over standard mayonnaise because of the extra umami that the MSG provides. You can definitely still use regular mayonnaise as well, but try not to use Miracle Whip – it has a sweeter flavor and has less of a buttery flavor. Alternatively, you can also try it with my spicy Sriracha mayo recipe, if you want a spicy kick to this rice bowl.
• Unagi (Eel) Sauce – If you don’t have eel sauce, you can substitute it for gochujang. Gochujang will be a bit sweeter and spicier but will still make a delicious sauce. You can also make a quick sweet soy sauce by dissolving 1 ½ teaspoon of sugar (or honey) with 3 teaspoons of hot water and then adding 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to it.
• Garlic – There is no substitute for garlic and I would definitely use it for the tuna. It adds a lovely flavor to the fish.
• Butter – I like to use salted butter for the flavor. A healthier alternative to using butter is browning the garlic with a high smoke point oil such as avocado oil. Do not use olive oil – it has a strong flavor that will overpower the rice bowl
• Cucumber /Avocado – For any rice bowls, I usually like to keep my vegetables simple and use only cucumber and avocado. The cucumbers give the dish a crisp freshness and the avocado provides it with satisfying butteriness.
• Green Onions/Sesame Seeds/Furikake – Usually, I just use green onions, but I have used toasted sesame seeds, furikake, and shredded seaweed from time to time as well. Switch up the topping to what you enjoy most. If you’re adventurous, I also have a Homemade Furikake Recipe as well.
• Sriracha – Optional for a bit of spiciness

ASSEMBLING THE RICE BOWL

To assemble the rice bowl, I like to layer it in the following order: Rice on the bottom, followed by the vegetables on top of the rice, then I add the tuna on top of the vegetables and I top it off with all the sauce and mayo drizzles and garnishes at the very top. There is no hard-fast rule to assembling a rice bowl, you can put the ingredients side by side or layer it any way you like – have fun with it! Just remember that you usually want to add the sauce, mayo, and garnishes at the very end on top of everything so that when you eat it, it is easier to distribute the flavors.

This tuna mayo rice bowl (deopbap) recipe is very customizable, and you can definitely switch up the vegetables or starches – be creative and use your favorite ingredients! For starches, I have used quinoa, bulgur and they both taste great with it. I have even made it without any starch when I wanted a lighter meal and just mixed it in with vegetables. For vegetables, I like to stick to cucumber and avocado because I like the crispness from the cucumber and the creaminess from the avocadoes but you definitely can switch it up with any type of vegetable you like. On lazy days, I like to use salad mixes and throw them right on top of the rice so that there is no vegetable preparation involved.