A great tuna tower is one of those things I love going out to eat for. With the quarantine of 2020, I found myself hunkering down and cooking at home EVERY SINGLE DAY! I didn't mind it, but every once in awhile I wanted to enjoy a restaurant favorite like this Ahi Tuna Tower.
Assembling your components
The first thing I make is the spicy mayo. It only requires two ingredients and if you can find the good Asian mayo, GET IT! It is just a little thinner and more creamy version of mayo, and it keeps this as authentic as possible.
A quick blend of the mayo and sriracha and you have a perfect sushi condiment and the flavor base for the crab salad. The best part about this recipe is if you like it extra spicy, add more sriracha till it reaches your desired heat.
Next shred the crab sticks like you would a cheese stick.
Reserve some of the spicy mayo for the base of your plate and mix the rest into the shredded crab.
Mix it all together and top with a couple of dollops of caviar if you are using it. Cover and refrigerate until needed. This can be made up to a day ahead of time.
You then want to marinate your fish. I made a version with tuna and one with salmon. The tuna is a little more on the pricey side, bust the salmon is about ⅓ the cost, and once marinated they are both great!
In a bowl, mix the marinade and add in the fish and some diced cucumber.
Mix everything together, cover, and refrigerate until needed. This can be done up to 2 hours early and will hold in the fridge for 24 hours.
The last thing that needs to be prepared ahead of time is the rice. Cook the rice to the package directions then season with a rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt mixture. This adds flavor to the rice and makes it a little sticky. Flatten the rice out and let it cool completely before building the towers.
Time to build a tower!
Now that all of our ingredients are prepared we are ready to make an Ahi Tuna Tower or Spicy Salmon Tower. The way you layer your towers is very important to get them to stand. You have to pack everything down and it needs to go, rice, avocado, crab salad, tuna, or salmon on top.
I didn't pay attention the first time and I did rice, then tuna, and my tower crumbled because the marinade from the tuna dripped into the rice and my tower crumbled. So you have to build a strong foundation with the most stable elements first.
You can then garnish with a little extra crab salad and some caviar just to make it pretty. Food IS half about the way it looks, right? I then top with a generous sprinkle of the crispy onions, I like using them because they help make this a cross between my favorite crispy California sushi roll and a classic tuna tower.
Build in the same order if you choose to use the salmon. It is equally great and can be made for about $5 per serving, vs $7 per serving for the tuna.
The $$$ breakdown!
I am sharing the recipe as part of a series explaining how I only grocery shop 20-24 times a year. I push myself to plan for about 14 meals at a time and then grocery shop for each of them all at once! It takes an entire day to shop, organize, separate and freeze proteins, and unwrap and wash all fruits and vegetables, but it is 100% worth it to only shop 1-2 times a month.
If you visit my Instagram and take a look at the "Grocery Haul" highlight, you can see a first-hand account of my shopping day! When I did this I shared the meals I planned to cook with the groceries I purchased and the price breakdown for each. SO here it is, the nitty-gritty of how much this costs to make.
This makes so much sense to me to make at home, again, I know it is a little work, but I have seen "Tuna Towers" on menus anywhere from $15 to $25 and up. SO if I can make 4-6 servings for that price or less, I'm all in! Plus if I buy a little tiny bit extra, I can stretch this into lunch the next day or a couple of sushi rolls later in the week.
Now the "pantry ingredients" were already in my pantry, but I have broken down the amounts I have used and included them in the price of the final product. (Yes I dug out my old grocery receipts to give you these numbers.) While I know the grocery tab is a little higher if you have to purchase these things, you still have them in the pantry the next time the craving strikes and that is money you don't have to spend again later.
Cost Breakdown:
$15.24 8oz Big Eye Tuna Steak
$5.98 8oz Salmon Fillet
$1.29 Cucumber, used half
$2.99 Crab Sticks
$1.75 Eel Sauce 1 ea - buy from the sushi section at the grocery store
$3.00 Avocados 3 ea
Pantry ingredients:
- $5.99 Kewpie Mayonnaise - 1/10 of bottle $0.59
- $1.99 Sriracha - 1/12 of bottle $0.16
- $5.99 Fried Onions - 1/12 of can $0.49
- $3.49 Soy Sauce - ⅙ of bottle $0.58
- $5.64 Sushi Rice - ⅓ of bag $1.88
Optional Extra:
$5.99 Caviar 1 ea - used half
Tuna Only Breakdown
$33.96 - 4 servings
$8.49 per person, with caviar - $6.99 per person, without caviar
Salmon Only Breakdown
$24.70 - 4 servings
$6.18 per person, with caviar - $4.68 per person, without caviar
I love eating at home because I can customize the flavor, be sure it is served HOT, and save TONS of money. It takes my time to cook, but it is always more tasty and I am never disappointed, and if I am I learn and tweak that recipe for next time!
That said, this one came out just the way I imagined it, and I loved it! It hit the spot and satisfied my craving. It takes a little time, but it is a special treat that I reserve for "once in a while".
In the end, towers are built to be toppled, knock it down and enjoy!
P.S. I love an Ahi Tuna Tower, but you could totally make this a poke bowl and build it in a circle around a bowl if you want.
Get the cup to build your tower in HERE!
Ahi Tuna Tower
I was craving this restaurant classic during the 2020 quarantine, I created this recipe to curb my craving while staying home!
Ingredients
for the rice:
- ¼ cup Rice Wine Vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 2 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Sushi Rice
for the spicy mayo:
- ½ cup Kewpie Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha
- Reserve 2 tablespoons for plating
for the crab salad:
- 1, 8oz pkg Crab Sticks, shredded
- Spicy Mayo
- 2 tablespoons Asian Fried Onions
- Red Lumpfish Caviar, optional
for the tuna:
- 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce, shoyu
- 1 teaspoon Mirin
- ¼ teaspoon Chili Flakes
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh Ginger, grated
- 1, 8oz Tuna Steak, diced into ¼ inch cubes
- ½ English Cucumber, small diced
- 1 tablespoon Chives, chopped
to build the tower:
- 2 Avocados, smashed
- Asian Fried Onions
- Eel Sauce, from the sushi counter
- Red Lumpfish Caviar, optional
Instructions
for the rice:
- Gently warm the rice vinegar, salt, and sugar in the microwave or on the stove just to melt the sugar and salt.
- In a pressure cooker or rice cooker, cook the rice to package directions. When the rice is cooked, remove it from the pot and mix in the rice vinegar mixture. Spread the rice out in a shallow bowl or plate and allow it to cool completely before using it. This can be done up to a day ahead.
for the spicy mayo:
- In a bowl, mix the mayo and sriracha together, taste and adjust to your heat level if you like it more or less spicy. Reserve 2-3 tablespoons for the bottom of the plate.
for the crab salad:
- First, shred the crab sticks by pulling them apart like you would a cheese stick. This could also be done by shredding with two forks. Mix in the remaining spicy mayo. Just before using toss in the crispy onions and about 1 teaspoon of the caviar if you are using it. This can be made up to a day ahead, store in an airtight container and reserve the onions and caviar.
for the tuna:
- In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, Mirin, chili flakes, sesame oil, and grated ginger. Stir to combine. Toss the diced tuna and cucumber in the marinade and let it meld in the refrigerator for about 2 hours, this will hold in the marinade for up to 24 hours. Fold in the chives just before building your tower.
to build the tower:
- In an adjustable measuring cup, layer in about 1 inch of sushi rice and tamp it down. Next layer in the avocado, about ½ an avocado per tower, and tamp it down tight. Then layer the crab salad in on top of the avocado and the marinated tuna. Tamp them down until tight. This layer procedure is key, do it in the order to prevent your rice from getting soggy and tower from tumbling. Gently press the tower out of the mold. Top with more crab salad, caviar, and a dusting of crispy onions. Spread a line of the spicy mayo and eel sauce on the side of the plate, use a chopstick to make swirls through the sauces to decorate the plate. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
This recipe can be made the exact same way using sushi-grade salmon.
The caviar is also optional, you can reduce the cost of the overall meal if you want to eliminate it altogether.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
If you make this recipe, please let me know by leaving a review at the bottom of this page!
And make sure to sign up for my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more KendellKreations!
MY LATEST RECIPES!
Get my NEW e-Cookbook here!! ⬇️
MY FAVORITE KITCHEN TOOLS!
Here are a few links to some of my favorite kitchen tools! You get a car, YOu get a car, YOU ALL GET A CAR…in my best Oprah voice
These Rösle Silicone Tongs are a little pricey but they will last you the rest of your life and are the softest in your hand. This is important for someone like m that cooks so much. It reduces strain, I have 4 sets in my kitchen!
These are my FAVE Nordic Ware Sheet Pans, every kitchen should have at least 2 sets of these! I think I have at least 4 of each of these.
This is my favorite pressure cooker, the Fagor is the same concept as the “Instant Pot” but easier to use in my opinion, if you don’t have one you NEED one, it will be your best friend in the kitchen!
A sharp knife is the most important tool in the kitchen, these Japanese steel “Shun” knives are my favorite! And this is a great starter set to build on. Once you try them you will be in love so use this as a foundation you can build on for years to come.
This Scanpan 11″ skillet is just the right size for almost anything you will need to cook and my best friend and a real workhorse in my kitchen, it’s also a great deal at $99. Scanpan is the best in the world for healthy cooking. It is coated with a proprietary ceramic-titanium coating that is durable while allowing you to use fewer fats and oils when cooking. It is a coating only they use. I could talk all day about my love for these pans, message me if you want more info. Here are some other sizes that are available if you are looking to outfit your kitchen with some new goodies. 8″ & 10″ Skillet set or 8″ Skillet, I still need this one for my kitchen Also, I don’t really know how to cook small so the 12.5″ is my other fave!
This giant vat of olive oil is my favorite, I decant it into a smaller bottle for my counter. Or put this spigot on top of a wine bottle!
My favorite baking dish that is so easy to clean even burnt on cheese slides right off!
This Tovolo jar scraper has to be my single favorite kitchen tool, it is definitely the most used tool in my kitchen. If you are NOT a gadget person, this is the only necessity I say is a MUST beyond the wooden spoon.
A great wood spoon is essential, this Olive Wood one is my favorite, I have more than I can count. But can you really ever have too many?
A food scale can be a very important tool in your kitchen, this one is the one I use every day!
If you love Joanna Gaines as much as I do then the ‘Magnolia Table Cookbook’ is a must in your kitchen, get a copy HERE!
Leave a Reply