Asian Tuna Salad

Me: Hey? Do you want tuna sandwiches for lunch?

Scott: Sure.

*chop, chop, mix, assemble and serve*

Scott: What’s this?

Me: Huh? It’s a tuna sandwich.

Scott: Oh.

Me: Why? Doesn’t it look like a tuna sandwich?

Scott: No.

Me: No? What would your tuna sandwich look like?

Scott: Mayo on each slice of bread, scoop out the tuna from the can and stick on the bread. Put the two halves together and eat.

Me: Oh. How about I’ll do the cooking from now on?

And that’s pretty much how our conversation went the first time I made tuna salad sandwiches for Scott and I those many years ago when we moved into our first apartment right out of college. Tuna with some huge globs of mayo slapped on some bread? No thank you. And I’ve been playing with tuna salad ideas ever since.

This recipe came to me because I had a craving for some tuna salad and also knew I had some veggies that needed to get used up. I pondered it, and the result is this Asian inspired recipe.

Andrea’s Asian Tuna Salad

• 1 pkg. of Sweet and Spicy tuna
• 10 baby carrots shredded
• 2 green onions chopped (both white and green parts)
• 1 stalk of celery chopped
• 2 TBSP of chopped cilantro
• 2 Cups of shredded cabbage
• 1 1/2 tsp of sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp of soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mayo
• pinch of salt and black pepper to taste

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all ingredients well. Serve as a sandwich or on a bed of greens as a salad.

I used Starkist Sweet and Spicy tuna but I’m sure you could use regular tuna as well. And if you want, you could use 2 cups of prepackaged coleslaw mix which would already have the carrots and cabbage combined. I used fresh because I feel it has a better crunch. But if the carrots and cabbage don’t look good that day, feel free to use some of the coleslaw mix.

I’m trying to get more veggies and fruits into my diet (and Scott’s!), so I try to put them in where I can. I thought this would be a great opportunity to add some greens to this dish by way of the cabbage. Cabbage is such a great veggie and so good for you that we eat it regularly here at OHC. It pumps up the volume of the salad and gives it a nice crunch and texture. Most times when you think of tuna salad you think of a gloppy mess of tuna and mayo. I tried to avoid that as much as possible in this salad. I only used 1/4 cup of mayo which binds everything together but doesn’t overpower the dish. Resulting in a nice light and crispy tuna salad.

Asian Tuna Salad in a pita

Enjoy guys! And remember, always play with your food!