Japanese-Style Tuna Mayonnaise (ツナマヨ)
The Japanese version of tuna mayonnaise is packed with unique flavours: togarashi pepper, rice vinegar and wasabi.
The popularity of tuna mayonnaise in Japan was established in the 1980s, when convenience, hand-held lunchbox sushi like the ‘onigiri’ adapted some Western flavour combinations that were trickling into modern Japanese cuisine. Tuna and mayonnaise are both relatively modern additions to Japanese cuisine. Mayonnaise was introduced to Japan in the 1920’s by a businessman Toichiro Nakashima. His campaigning effort was to fatten up the Japanese population, originally with canned oily fish like salmon, before shifting his focus onto the Western fixation with mayonnaise. His mayonnaise brand in Japan became ‘Kewpie’, one of the tastiest ready-made mayonnaise brands available around the world with its trademark squeezy bottle. Tuna was popularised in the middle of the 20th century, ushered in by Japanese settlers on the Hawaiian islands who discovered the South Pacific taste for tuna. Combined, the modern Japanese tuna mayonnaise is its own distinct style: creamy with Japanese mayo, tangy with rice vinegar and hot with wasabi and black pepper. Regular, quality mayonnaise will work just as well. This Japanese tuna mayo can be used to fill sandwiches (or ‘sandos’), dip vegetables or used with many sushi styles such as onigiri, futomaki or inari. I love it with crackers or crudités, especially roasted nori sheets! Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS (serves 1-2x)
1x can of tuna chunks/steak, ideally packed in oil
1 tsp shichimi togarashi (Japanese pepper) - [BEST BUY] - or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper and 1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsps rice wine vinegar - or to taste
1 tsp wasabi paste/horseradish/mustard - optional
1/2 tsp salt - or to taste
2 tablespoons ‘Kewpie’ mayonnaise (or full-fat/real mayonnaise)
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
To serve: sushi rice, nori sheets, sliced vegetables/crudités
WALKTHROUGH
First, open and drain the canned tuna. Scoop the drained tuna into a small mixing bowl.
Add 1 tsp Japanese pepper (or 1/4 tsp cayenne and 1/4 tsp pepper), 2 tsps rice vinegar, 1 tsp wasabi/horseradish/mustard and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix until the tuna is coated in the seasonings.
Add the 2 tablespoons of Kewpie/regular mayonnaise and mix until well combined. Japanese-style tuna mayonnaise is fairly smooth, so you can stir briskly to break up the tuna into fine flakes, or keep it chunkier if preferred.
Serve with sliced spring onions and some nori sheets or crackers on the side. You can also use it to fill sushi like as onigiri, futomaki or inari sushi. It will store for up to 2 days in the fridge as well. Enjoy!
