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Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna Stacks. Crispy fried rice, layered with our favorite spicy gingery tuna, chunks of cucumber, avocado, and then all the best toppings. Finish with our favorite spicy, sweet, and creamy mayo sauce, fried wontons, and lots of candied jalapeños. Each stack is colorful and full of so much flavor. A fun dinner, any night of the week. Everyone devours these stacks!
I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot, but, I know you all will love this recipe so much. I’m so excited about it!
I think we all know that when my brothers are home, I make Red’s favorite spicy poke bowls all the time. Like at least once a week. Both Red and Kai love these bowls. When I can find good-looking Sushi grade Ahi tuna, those poke bowls are usually what I make.
We love love them. Plus they’re pretty simple to throw together, so that’s of course an added bonus!
And if you have the HBH Every Day cookbook, you’ve probably seen my tuna stack, which is essentially a tuna roll, stacked. It’s one of my favorite recipes I share in the book. I had so much fun creating it.
When the boys were home over Christmas, I really wanted to make the tuna stack from the cookbook for them. They haven’t ever had the recipe and I knew it would be something fun, delicious, and a little different from the poke bowl.
But then, I saw something about fried crispy rice. Almost immediately I was in the kitchen making a tuna roll stacked high on a crispy fried rice round. I’ve literally never come up with, decided on, finalized, and completed a recipe so fast. I was overly excited to create these. Thankfully, they lived up to the picture I’d envisioned in my head.
Start with the rice, aside from the tuna, it’s the heart of the recipe. You need to use sushi rice, which you can buy at pretty much any grocery store. I cook mine just like I cook any other rice, it’s super easy.
To make it sticky, you will add a mix of vinegar and the smallest amount of sugar to the rice, then toss it all together until the rice becomes very sticky. It’s honestly so simple and easy.
Then pat the sticky rice into a baking dish. I line the dish with parchment first, then pack in the rice. I then chill the rice until I can easily cut it by popping the whole pan into the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
When the rice is chilled you can cut it into squares or use a circle biscuit cutter to make circles. However, cutting into squares is the simpler route!
Now the tuna, cube it. For the marinade, I like to keep mine simple: tamari (soy sauce), sesame chili oil, ginger, green onions, and toasted sesame seeds. I’ve found this to be the combo everyone loves most. If you don’t like spicy food, just use sesame oil.
We always eat out tuna rolls with a spicy mayo on top, so that comes next. It’s usually just mayo and sriracha mixed together. This is great and super simple, but I like to swap the sriracha with gochujang chili paste and then add tamari, plus a small amount of honey to balance the spiciness.
The added salt and sweetness make the sauce just a little more special. It’s creamy and honestly so delicious. And we’re not really a mayo-loving family either, but this is so good.
Ok, now fry the rice. This is super easy. I use avocado oil in a skillet and do a shallow pan fry until both sides of the rice are golden and very crispy.
To layer the tuna, you will need a 1-cup measuring cup. Layer in the tuna, then cucumbers, then avocado. And finally, invert the tuna stack directly onto the crispy, fried rice.
I know it sounds tricky, but it’s actually very easy. The tuna should slide right out of the measuring cup. If you’re having trouble, you can take a knife and run it around the edge of the cup to loosen it.
I made these bowls extra special with some wontons and then my homemade candied ginger jalapeños. Both are definitely extra, but so delicious. I think you can buy fried wontons too!
Everyone in my family has agreed that they could easily eat this once a week. It’s definitely on rotation when Red and Hailey are home – and Red comes back home tonight!
The crispy fried rice is a GAME CHANGER, so delicious you all!
Looking for other seafood?
Red’s Favorite Spicy Tuna Poke Bowls
Crispy Honey Ginger Salmon Bowl
Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado
Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter
Honey Garlic Salmon Soba Noodle Bowls
Lastly, if you make Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna Stacks, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
How long can you leave the tuna in the marinade? Ie how far in advance can you prep the tuna? Thanks!
Hi Katie,
I would not leave it for more than a few hours. Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Yum and yum.
Thanks so much Jo!!
I made this. I would post a pic but don’t know how. I fried the rice in the air fryer. That worked. I didn’t want to fry in oil. We loved it. I wanted to wait for super bowl but was too excited to wait. I made jalepeno and mayo a few days before. I did the rice in the morning and put it in the freezer. All I needed to was cut fish and veggies and assemble. Awesome. Thanks
Hey Leanne,
Happy Sunday!!🏈 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Nutrition content specifically carbs would be helpful for those of us who require that information
Hi there,
Sorry, that is not something I have available at this time. I am assuming any online nutritional calculator can provide this info once the ingredients are inputted:) xT
Hi! Can I substitute white vinegar for rice vinegar? I am short about two tbsps! Thanks 🙂
Hey Kate,
You can and it will work, it’s just going to have a different taste:) If you can get more rice vinegar I would do that! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hey there! Making this Sunday for one of our Super Bowl snacks — so excited to try it!
My question is, the ingredient calls for 2 cups sushi rice. Is that 2 cups dry or 2 cups of prepared rice?
Thanks for your help!
Hey Gwen,
It’s 2 cups prepared:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
I love this! Do you have any pregnancy safe alternatives to the tuna I could use?
Hey Jane,
You could cook the tuna….you could also use shrimp, chicken, scallops, or any other protein that you enjoy! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Wow! This was incredible! My adult daughter said it was possibly the best thing I’ve ever made, and I cook a lot!
I followed recipe exactly and it all came out great. A couple tips for frying the rice….it took longer than I would have expected to brown, and I have a very high power commercial type gas cook top. Let the rice cook undisturbed on the first side until you can see it browning on edges. If you try to peek or flip too soon it will break apart.
I also used more tuna per stack so each stack was a complete dinner serving for most people. Thanks for a fun recipe Tieghan!
Hey Sarita,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was tasty! xx
This looks amazing!! When I made something similar, the rice fell apart as I was frying it. Any pointers?
Hey Carolyn,
I would just really make sure you are following the freezing instructions for the rice, that should help! Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
I did not think the time for the sushi rice was accurate. I used 3c water, 2 c sushi rice and salt, but after cooking on low for 10 min. And then let it stand for 15 min, covered. When I tried to fry the rice that had been in the freezer, it was MUCH too wet…splattered all over and never got brown. So I tried again the next day…cooked the rice longer and then used egg whites, dipped them in panko and fried them…came out much better. The remainder of the recipe is wonderful. Thank you!!!
Hi Joan,
Awesome!!🌼 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you giving it a try! So sorry to hear about your rice! xT
Delicious but putzy… I told my husband to enjoy because I’d never make it again 😉
Hey Ellen,
Happy Friday!😁 Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
This was what we’ve started calling “Another Tieghan Day”. We started off with ‘Dad’s Easy Cheesy Eggs with Chili Butter’ (for the fourth time since New Years Day!). And then for dinner, I made us these delicious ‘Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna Stacks’. They were a huge hit! Again, thanks so much for yet another great recipe!
Lol wow!! Thanks so much Lynn! I love that your family has been enjoying so many recipes and appreciate you making them:) xx
This was wonderful. Thank you for the recipe. Very flavorful
Hey Casey,
Happy Sunday!😃 Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, I am so glad it turned out well for you! xx
The taste was delicious! Everyone loved it especially the candy Jalapeño.
The only problem was the rice. It did not stay formed and did not fry to a golden color. We did everything as directed. Heated the oil cooked for 5 minutes. It all fell apart, we end up just frying the rice and adding it to the stack before turning it out on the plate.
I will make it again.
Hey Deborah,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! It sounds like the rice needed to freeze longer! xT
T, This was fabulously delicious! My daughter said it was one of the best things I’ve ever made! To save time I used the packaged wonton strips. The candied jalepenos didn’t turn out as expected and had to throw out. It was great without them. By request, making it again this weekend 🙂
Hey Jackie,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT