Can I use canned tuna?

You can! If you can't find good-quality fresh tuna, or don't like raw fish, canned tuna works just fine. Canned tuna in oil is best here - tuna in spring water is a little drier so you'll need to add a little more spicy mayo.

Can I make the cups in advance?

You can make the tuna mixture up to 48 hours in advance, then fry the rice paper and assemble them when you're ready. You can fry the rice paper earlier in the day you'd like to serve them (you could make them the day before but they will soften a little).

Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice Paper Cups

Name: Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice Paper Cups
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: asian
Ingredients: 8oz/240g sashimi grade tuna (or salmon); 2 tablespoons spicy mayonnaise or aioli (I’m using gochujang aioli); 2 teaspoons soy sauce; 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 3 scallions (spring onions), finely sliced; 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (plus more to serve); 6 rice paper wrappers; 1/4 cup vegetable oil (sunflower, avocado, canola, rapeseed or similar); 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds; 2 tablespoons sweet chilli jam, to serve

Description

You’re just 15 minutes away from the most gorgeous, crowd-pleasing party snack around. Make a spicy, fresh tuna mixture with a few cupboard staples, fry rice paper in a little oil (and watch the magic happen), then pile everything into your crunchy cups and enjoy. Serve with sweet chili jam on the side for drizzling.

Ingredients

Units Scale

8oz/240g sashimi grade tuna (or salmon)
2 tablespoons spicy mayonnaise or aioli (I'm using gochujang aioli)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 scallions (spring onions), finely sliced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (plus more to serve)
6 rice paper wrappers
1/4 cup vegetable oil (sunflower, avocado, canola, rapeseed or similar)
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
2 tablespoons sweet chilli jam, to serve

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Instructions

Mix your spicy tuna. Dice your tuna into small chunks, then add to a bowl along with the spicy mayo, soy sauce, sesame oil, three-quarters of the sliced scallions (keep some aside to scatter on top of the cups) and the sesame seeds. Mix well to combine, then set aside for now.
Prep your rice paper. Use scissors to cut your rice paper rounds into quarters – you can cut them in half if you’d like larger cups.
Heat your oil. You want the oil to come roughly half an inch up the side of your pan. To check the oil is hot enough, hold a chopstick or a wooden spoon upright in the oil – if lots of bubbles rapidly rise against it, it’s good to go. You can also CAREFULLY dip a piece of rice paper into the oil. If it starts to puff up and change color (it’ll turn white), you know it’s hot enough. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the rice paper will sink to the bottom and won’t puff up.
Fry the rice paper. Set yourself up with either a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels to drain the fried rice paper on. Carefully lower the rice paper pieces into the hot oil and watch as they puff up magnificently. This takes a couple of seconds. Use tongs or chopsticks to remove the puffed up rice paper from the oil and place them on the wire rack, or on a plate lined with paper towels.
Assemble the cups. Set the rice paper cups on a serving platter, then place a couple of thinly sliced cucumber rounds at the bottom of each. Divide the spicy tuna mixture between the cups, then finish with a little drizzle of chili jam (if you’re using it), along with the reserved scallions and more sesame seeds. Enjoy right away.

Notes

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Any leftover tuna can be kept for up to 2 days in the fridge – it’s a wonderful excuse to make spicy tuna bowls! The rice paper is best eaten the day it’s fried as it softens over time.

INGREDIENT NOTES: You could use canned tuna if you don’t like raw fish, or can’t find sashimi-grade tuna. Use sashimi-grade salmon, hot-smoked salmon or baked salmon (flaking this maple miso glazed salmon would be FAB) or chicken (try them with shredded sticky chicken teriyaki, satay grilled chicken, miso grilled chicken, sticky gochujang chicken or Korean fried chicken).

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS: Try adding a few slices of avocado to each cup, or dollop a little avocado edamame dip on top.

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 5
Category: appetizers
Method: stove top
Cuisine: asian

Nutrition

Serving Size: 4 cups
Calories: 255
Sugar: 2g
Sodium: 282mg
Fat: 12.7g
Saturated Fat: 8g
Unsaturated Fat: 2.6g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 23.6g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 12g
Cholesterol: 17.3mg