Tuna takikomi rice, or takikomi gohan, is a Japanese seasoned rice dish with veggies and tuna. Easy, filling, and nutritious, all you need to do is prep the ingredients, throw them in the rice cooker, and press start!
Here’s a scenario: you don’t feel like making dinner. But you have people in the house you have to feed. Ah, life. This is me, 3 out of 7 days at LEAST.
I have several quick go-to dishes for my lazy nights, like my beef soboro. Here’s another one to add to the list… and you DON’T have to defrost any meat for it! Woohoo! This tuna rice, or tuna takikomi gohan, is quick, easy, and convenient! It’s also quite customizable, to suit your family’s tastes.
Basically, all you have to do is get your ingredients ready, throw them in the rice cooker, and let the cooker do its thing. I LOVE rice cooker meals! By the way, my rice cooker is over ten years old, and I inherited it from my mom. It’s getting pretty dinged up, but it still works great. Made in Japan, guys. Made in Japan.
So, the main star of this meal is canned solid albacore tuna. I use Wild Planet tuna, which I buy on Amazon with my link or at Costco if you prefer. I also add carrots, corn, shiitake mushrooms, and hijiki (a type of seaweed that is quite nutritious). The shiitake adds a lot of flavor to the tuna takikomi, so I would definitely recommend using it. I buy a pack of dried shiitake at the Asian market and throw it in the freezer.
For kids, tuna takikomi makes a great main dish. If you are serving adults, you may want to use this as a side dish, or pair it with a filling side. It also makes a great lunch.
Try switching out different chopped veggies, and have fun with it!
If you like easy tuna recipes, try my onigiri with tuna mayo filling. It’s a fun and easy Japanese snack.
Tuna Takikomi Rice
Ingredients
- 2 rice cooker cups short-grain Japanese rice 1.5 regular cups
- 1 can solid albacore tuna
- 1/3 cup frozen corn
- 3 dried shiitake
- 1 carrot
- 2 T hijiki optional
- 2 T soy sauce
- 2 T sake
- salt to taste
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Instructions
- Place 2 cups of rice in the rice cooker bowl. Wash the rice 3-4 times, draining after each wash. Set the bowl back in the rice cooker. Place the dried shiitake in a small bowl with about 1/2 a cup of water, and allow to soak. Place the hijiki in another small bowl with 1/2 cup of water and allow to soak.
- Meanwhile, peel the carrot and cut into rounds. Cut the rounds into either half pieces, or quarter pieces, depending on thickness of carrot. Once the shiitake are looking plump, remove from water (reserve the water!) and cut into small pieces, removing the hard stem portion and discarding. Drain the hijiki and discard water.
- Add the soy sauce and sake to the rice, and add the water the shiitake soaked in. Fill the 2 cup line with water and stir. At this point you may add some salt. The amount you add will depend on the tuna you use. You can also omit the salt and add it in the end after you’ve tasted it! Add the corn, hijiki, shiitake, carrot, and (drained) tuna pieces. Give it a quick stir to combine the ingredients.
- Close the lid and press start! When the rice is finished cooking, stir it with a rice paddle, and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
This. Was. Delicious!
Would It be possible to use fresh tuna for this?
I haven’t personally tried it, but I would assume it would! Let me know if you try it out!
Thank you for this great recipe. I will be making this tomorrow!
Awesome!