Ingredients Print

Check off ingredients as you go

Serves 2

For cooking the rice see the basic recipe

• 100 g (1/2 cup) short-grain sushi rice
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large can tuna in water
• 1 ripe avocado
• 60 g (1/4 cup) ricotta
• a handful of sesame seeds (white and/or black)
• 1 tsp dried chili flakes or Sriracha sauce (or more, to taste)
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam, optional)
• a little lemon juice

If you change the number of serving, consider adjusting cooking times!

A version that brings together Japanese cooking and the creaminess of Italian ricotta. For a less light version, you can swap the ricotta for mayonnaise.

Preparing the sushi rice

1. Cook the rice in a saucepan according to the package instructions. Once cooked, let it cool for about ten minutes, then add the rice vinegar, which you will have brought to a boil with the sugar and salt.

Preparing the topping

2. Meanwhile, cut the avocado into cubes or slices and squeeze a little lemon juice over it so it doesn’t turn brown.

3. Drain the tuna, flake it and mix it with the ricotta. Add the fish sauce, then the chili flakes or Sriracha sauce, if using.

Assembling the rice tartare

Put the rice in a bowl, press it down gently with the back of a spoon, then add the avocado and tuna and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

For another version with salmon, I recommend my salmon, avocado and cucumber rice tartare or, in the same spirit, the sushi cake.

And if you’d like to put together a sushi dinner or sushi appetizer spread, I’ve written a complete roundup with an assortment of sushi, maki, tartares and more in the article all kinds of sushi.

Tips and planning

Ricotta is an alternative to mayonnaise: it adds creaminess without any greasy taste.

Fish sauce is salty, so if you use it, there’s no need to add salt to the rice vinegar.

To serve the tartares unmolded, I recommend using a ring mold, or lining the bottom of the bowl with plastic wrap; it will then be very easy to unmold after about ten minutes in the fridge.

If you love rice tartare, you might be tempted by an indulgent version, the fruit rice tartare.