Canned tuna has been the subject of many debates. Some argue it is high in mercury and not safe for consumption while others believe tuna canning is not an environmentally sustainable industry.
Other concerns about bycatch (like dolphins and whales getting caught in the fishing nets) and overfishing have also been an issue with the tuna industry.
You can check the source of your tuna with websites like Seafood Watch set up by Monterey Bay Aquarium, and even checking for information on the brand website itself for the type of tuna being fished and where.
Watch out for food producers like Ayam Brand where they even state what kind of tuna they are using (small yellowfish and skipjack) and even outline their tuna purchasing specifications on a page titled, “Is My Ayam Brand Tuna Sustainable?”.
For those who enjoy this flaky fish meat, here are 10 ways to cook your canned tuna besides making the usual sandwich:
1.Make an easy tuna penne pasta
Chef John from Food Wishes was one of the earliest cooking gurus on YouTube. He shared this fast and easy recipe to make penne pasta with basic ingredients of tuna in olive oil, cream of tomato soup and penne.
The rest of ingredients are seasonings which are up to you. You can make it creamy by adding Parmigiano Reggiano cheese or ‘herby’ by adding herbs such as oregano and tarragon.
Do not forget to add salt and pepper to taste!
2.Healthy tuna patties
If you are looking for high protein and high fiber foods to snack on, here is a recipe that you should try.
The main ingredients are two cans of tuna, one cup of rolled oats, two eggs, onions, black pepper and salt to taste.
You can have it for breakfast, lunch or as after workout snacks.
3.Gordan Ramsay’s spiced tuna fishcakes
Guess what? Even famous celebrity chef Gordan Ramsay uses canned tuna. Similar with the previous recipe, Ramsay made fishcake out of canned tuna.
For this, he adds in Asian ingredients such as chilli, spring onion, coriander and fish sauce.
4.Tuna salad
Skip the usual thousand island or vinaigrette and make your own dressing using olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Once you get the dressing done, there are plenty of ways to make canned tuna salad.
5.Stir-fried tuna
Here is a recipe to turn your canned tuna into a stir-fried dish to eat with rice. Stir fry these ingredients; onion, garlic, green chilies, tomato together with canned tuna.
On top of salt for seasoning, you can also add in turmeric powder and chili powder.
6.Tuna rolls for snacks
To make these canned tuna rolls, you need to have egg or spring roll wrappers which are very easy to get from the supermarket.
Then for its filling, combine tuna together with chopped vegetables like celery, carrots, cabbage and spring onions.
Bind it with mayo and maybe a little bit of dijon mustard before rolling it. Do not forget your salt and pepper to taste.
Once the rolls are all wrapped up nicely, you can either fry or bake it.
7.Tuna kimchi jjigae
We listed kimchi jjigae as one of easy Korean dinner recipes that you can try at home. By adding in some canned tuna into your kimchi stew, then you have one whole new dish to try.
8.Korean tuna rice balls
Tuna kimchi jjigae is not the only Korean dish you can make from canned tuna. You can also make some rice balls with it.
Just mix tuna (drained from oil or water) with leftover rice, some seaweed, salt to taste and maybe a little bit of mayonnaise to taste.
Once the mixture is done, roll the rice into small balls.
9.Filipino tuna sisig
Sisig is a Filipino dish originally made from parts of pig head and chicken liver. Usually it is seasoned with calamansi, onions and chilli peppers.
Instead of pig head and chicken liver, make sisig out of canned tuna. It is pretty easy to make as long as you have the basic ingredients such as onion, ginger, chilli, black pepper, sugar, calamansi, mayonnaise and cooking oil to fry.
10.Tuna curry
Imagine craving for curry but do not have the proteins beside canned tuna in your pantry. Then it is time to give tuna curry a try!
Different Asian cultures seem to have different interpretation of curry. Just cook the curry according to your preference but put in canned tuna instead.
