Spicy Tuna Hand Rolls

I talk a lot about comfort food. Because part of being food obsessed a food blogger is having that deep connection to food beyond simply fueling our bodies. It’s about being both curious and excited about food. Having a connection - culturally, symbolically, figuratively, to every bite.

Homemade sushi is totally comfort food to me. We had “sushi night” in our house about once a week with a variety of ingredients laid out, taco-bar style. But my favorite ingredient was always spicy tuna. It didn’t hurt that the ingredients were top notch. It easy and inexpensive to get the most beautiful ahi tuna steaks in the islands. For my first few years here in the Pacific NW, I tended to stay away from raw fish in my sushi. But I recently learned about the brilliance of flash freezing, which helps keep fish - like ahi and salmon - in sashimi-grade tact. And side note if you’re a sushi newbie: you definitely only want to use sashimi-grade fish if you’re planning to eat it raw. Just take my word for it.

So the good news? I’m back to making - and eating - homemade Spicy Tuna Rolls. And so should you! Don’t be intimidated by the make-your-own sushi kits with the bamboo rolls and such. The beauty of hand rolls is that you don’t need any equipment. Yup, you heard me right. Simply load up your ingredients onto a piece of nori (that’s the seaweed, people) - and roll. And eat. And then roll again. I think you get the idea.

Next time you feel like going out to eat sushi and dropping dolla dolla bills y’all, try making this Spicy Tuna Hand Roll recipe at home. Or, let me know what your favorite type of sushi is! I’ll break it down for ya.