Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Golden-fried squares of seasoned sushi rice, shatter-crisp outside and creamy within, topped with spicy tuna, jalapeño and a drizzle of sweet soy glaze. The whole trick is pressing the warm rice into a lined pan and chilling it overnight so the grains fuse into slabs that fry up crisp instead of crumbling in the oil. Restaurants charge around $17 for four bites; at home you get sixteen.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups short-grain sushi rice
• 1 3/4 cups cold water
• 3 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 8 oz sushi-grade ahi tuna, well chilled
• 2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie)
• 1 1/2 tsp sriracha, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp masago or tobiko (optional)

• 1 1/2 cups neutral oil for frying (canola or grapeseed)
• 1 jalapeño, sliced paper-thin
• 2 tbsp eel sauce (unagi glaze) or thick teriyaki
• 1 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise thinned with 1 tsp water, for drizzling
• 1 tsp toasted white and black sesame seeds
• micro shiso or cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice: put it in a bowl, cover with cold water, swish with your fingers, and pour off the cloudy water. Repeat 4 to 5 times until the water runs nearly clear, then drain in a fine-mesh sieve for 10 minutes.
2. Cook the rice with the 1 3/4 cups cold water in a rice cooker on the white rice setting, or in a heavy 2-quart saucepan: bring to a boil uncovered, cover, drop to the lowest heat, and cook 15 minutes. Off heat, leave the lid on and steam 10 minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, warm the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan or microwave just until the sugar dissolves, about 30 seconds. Do not boil.
4. Turn the hot rice into a wide bowl or sheet pan. Pour the vinegar mixture over it and fold with a wet rubber spatula using a slicing-and-turning motion, about 2 minutes, until every grain is glossy and the rice has cooled to just above body temperature.
5. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with plastic wrap, letting it overhang all sides. Add the warm rice and spread it out. Lay a second sheet of plastic wrap on top and press hard and evenly with the flat bottom of a measuring cup or a second pan until the rice is a dense, level slab about 3/4 inch thick. Press firmly — compaction is what holds the squares together in the fryer.
6. Refrigerate the pressed rice, still wrapped and weighted with a few cans if you like, for at least 8 hours and ideally overnight. Cold, dried-out rice fries crisp; warm fresh rice falls apart.
7. Lift the slab out by the plastic onto a cutting board. With a sharp knife dipped in water between cuts, trim the ragged edges and cut into 16 rectangles roughly 1 1/2 x 2 inches. Blot all surfaces dry with paper towels and keep the pieces cold until frying.
8. Make the spicy tuna: pat the chilled tuna dry, cut into a small 1/4-inch dice with a very sharp knife, and fold with the Kewpie mayo, sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce, scallion and masago. Taste, adjust the heat, cover and refrigerate.
9. Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet or small Dutch oven to 350-360°F (use a thermometer; the oil should come about 1/2 inch up the sides). Fry the rice pieces in batches of 4 to 5, never crowding, for 2 to 3 minutes per side until deep golden and audibly crisp at the edges. Turn them with a fish spatula and a spoon so they don't crack.
10. Drain the fried rice on a wire rack set over paper towels and season with a light pinch of salt. Let the oil return to 350°F between batches. Serve within 15 minutes for maximum crunch.
11. Top each warm crisp with a heaped teaspoon of spicy tuna, pressing it gently so it adheres. Crown with a thin jalapeño slice, drizzle with eel sauce and thinned mayo, and finish with sesame seeds and a micro shiso leaf. Serve immediately, fried side up.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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