Tuna Fried Rice

Egg fried rice is one of my favourite go-to meals for small boys (and big Irishmen)! So I’m always looking for ways to tweak it and make it more exciting.

Halve the tuna if you want a less fishy experience 🙂

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Tuna Fried Rice

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 2 medium cans canned tuna in oil (200g / 7oz each)
• 3 cups cooked rice (360g / 12oz )
• 2 handfuls frozen peas
• 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 green onions (scallions / shallots) scallions, chopped (optional)
• toasted sunflower seeds or nuts to serve (optional)

Instructions

• Heat a generous glug of oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add tuna, rice and peas and stir fry for a few minutes until everything is hot.
• Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce. Taste and add extra soy as needed.
• Serve hot rice topped with green onions and seeds / nuts (if using).

WINE MATCH: A crisp dry white like Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris.

Variations & Substitutions

pantry – friendly – skip the green onion.

no cooked rice – follow this recipe to make your own. Or you can buy par cooked rice in ziplock bags in the supermarket. It’s better if you allow the rice to cool completely before frying – the texture isn’t the same with freshly cooked rice. Although it will still be lovely.

vegetarian – replace tuna with eggs (recipe here) or tofu.

more substantial (carb lovers) – more rice!

more substantial (low carb) – use more tuna and possibly some egg as well. Use a low GI rice like basmati or Doongara (available in Australia). And be generous with your seeds / nuts. I’ve used sunflower seeds in the photo but my boys love it with cashews and my Irishman loves his with peanuts. You can replace some of the cooked rice with cauliflower ‘rice’ (raw grated cauliflower). I’ve seen recipes for fried ‘rice’ using all grated cauliflower but I think it’s too much cauliflower – even for me. Or try Quick Tuna Ragu instead.

Low FODMAP – replace peas with chopped red capsicum (bell peppers) and make sure to only use the green parts of the green onions.

hot! – use tuna with chilli oil or add some finely chopped fresh or dried red chilli.

different veg / more veg – feel free to replace the peas with any stir fry veg like snow peas, green beans, asparagus, capsicum (bell peppers).

herby – serve with mint or coriander (cilantro) leaves.

nut-free – use sunflower seeds or just skip the nuts.

different protein – eggs are the usual but you could use pre-cooked chicken or sausages instead. Actually given how much my boys love sausages and thinking that will be a good new one to try! Or stir fry some sliced chicken thigh or breast fillets or crumbled sausage meat in the pan first and then when it’s cooked add the rice and peas.

paleo (grain, legume & dairy-free) – Quick Tuna Ragu instead.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

tuna in oil / rice / soy sauce / sunflower seeds or nuts – keep them in the pantry.

frozen peas – keep in the freezer.

green onions – skip them or keep in the fridge in a plastic bag for weeks.

Prepare Ahead

Best when freshly cooked. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to a week or can be frozen. To serve, fry in a little oil until everything is super hot. If you are planning to keep leftovers make sure you refrigerate them asap, preferably before you sit down to eat but no more than an hour.