Reviewed by Dietitian Casey Wing, RD, CD
Credit: Design elements: Getty Images. EatingWell design.
Key Points
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A quick, nutritious meal combines protein, veggies and a bold dressing for flavor and balance.
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Canned tuna, kimchi and mayo create a versatile base for salads, grains or noodles.
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Add crunch and spice with toppings like potato chips, sesame seeds or chili crisp.
From-scratch ramen, hand-pressed tortillas, rich braised meats—as a professional chef and recipe developer, I make intricate dishes for work and for pleasure. But there are some simple combinations that are so flavorful, and leave me feeling so revived after I eat them, that I make them for their deliciousness as well as their ease. These are the same meals I turn to when I’m exhausted from a day spent in the garden, or when I’ve just met a 5 p.m. story deadline and need to get dinner on the table.
Whether I’ve been exerting myself physically or focusing on mental exercise, I reach for ingredients that give me plenty of protein, a variety of produce and some heat, zing and crunch to keep things enticing. One of my favorites is a combo of canned oil-packed tuna, mayo, kimchi, chopped veggies and a little sprinkle of crushed potato chips. It can function as a hearty salad and can also be served over leftover grains, roasted starchy vegetables or fast-cooking soba noodles.
How to Make It
I always have canned tuna in the cupboard, and mayo and kimchi in the fridge, so when I’m throwing this meal together, I start by looking for complementary foods I can put in the bowl. If I’ve got cooked rice or noodles, or roasted sweet potatoes or winter squash, that’s a solid foundation. If not, I might boil some speedy noodles or chop up extra veggies to make a robust salad.
For the salad version, a bed of mixed baby lettuces or mesclun is an easy starting point, as is a peppery mustard mix. Lacking those, I might lean toward something more like a slaw, with shredded cabbage, carrots, daikon and the like. Have cooked vegetables on hand? Those will work, too. Roasted Brussels sprouts or wilted cabbage or kale would be particularly good. For some extra healthy fat, add slices of avocado.
Next comes the protein. Living in a rural part of landlocked Vermont, I’m always reminding myself to get seafood into my diet, making canned tuna a natural fit. The oil in the can becomes part of the dressing. If you don’t have tuna, cubes of extra-firm tofu are a good match for the other flavors, and you can never go wrong with a couple of jammy eggs. Pulled or chopped meat could work, too.
Combining kimchi with mayo makes a speedy dressing with the requisite acidity, salt and fat, plus some spice. (It was my mom’s classic mayo-and-pickle-relish combo, used as a tuna fish mix-in, that led me to the kimchi-mayo idea.)
Because I like food hot and bursting with savory umami, the kimchi in my fridge is always a spicy variant with plenty of fish sauce. A gingery, garlicky kimchi would work if you like it punchy without a burn, and for something that leans mild and refreshing, baek-kimchi (white kimchi) would do the trick.
If the kimchi you choose is well shredded, you can dollop all of your ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine them therein. If you have a chunkier kimchi, or one made with bigger leaves, giving the mayo, tuna oil and kimchi a quick whir in a blender will yield a smooth, creamy dressing. If you don’t have kimchi in the house, you could replace it with another tangy ferment—such as sauerkraut—or a vinegar pickle. Another option: Swap the kimchi for a spoonful of your favorite chili crisp and a splash of rice vinegar.
Finally, the dish needs some garnish. The best poke place near my home offers crushed potato chips as a crunchy topping, and I adopted that move for this dish. I’ve always used plain chips, but zippier flavors, like barbecue or salt and vinegar, wouldn’t be amiss. Shichimi togarashi, a spice blend that includes chile, citrus peel and sesame seeds, is a fixture on my tuna-kimchi bowls, too. Other toppings worth trying: plain toasted sesame seeds, crumbles of roasted seaweed, wasabi peas, edamame, basil and scallions.
Why I Love It
For a meal that comes together in 10 minutes (or maybe 15 if you boil some noodles), this one packs tons of nutrition and flavor. Provided you load up on the veggies and apply the dressing and potato chips with a measured hand, it’ll make you feel sated without weighing you down. But my favorite thing is simply how it tastes—I find the savory, spicy, tangy combo super satisfying.
The cost of the meal is mostly driven by the brands of tuna and kimchi that you use. Adding soba noodles, roasted squash or sweet potatoes is a great way to make it filling without making it pricey. Using a slaw base, such as shredded cabbage, carrot and onion, is more budget-friendly than filling the bowl with mesclun mix.
On the nutritional front, tuna is rich in selenium and vitamin B12 as well as in protein (about 25 grams in 3 ounces of drained tuna), which makes it a great choice for supporting a variety of biological processes, as long as you try to find types that are lower in mercury. Light tuna is the lowest-mercury option and, according to the FDA, can be consumed two to three times per week. (Albacore, an FDA “good choice,” should only be eaten around once per week.) Because kimchi is fermented, it can be supportive of the gut microbiome, and if you use plenty of raw veggies, you’ll end up consuming lots of healthy fiber, too.
The Bottom Line
For a convenient dinner, this one has it all. It’s quick to throw together and offers big, bold flavor and a solid nutritional profile with protein, a fermented component and lots of fiber. Any of the ingredients can be modified to use what you have in the cupboard or what you like, but aiming for a combination of colorful vegetables, a solid protein component and a dressing that brings spice, savoriness and acidity will make your variation a win.
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