The Japanese Condiment To Try When You're Tired Of Plain Tuna Salad

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Tuna salad, at its most basic, is a blend of canned tuna and mayonnaise that we dress up with other condiments like vinegar, Dijon mustard, or even pickle relish. These are classic condiments, but yuzu kosho — which you can purchase on Amazon — is the Japanese condiment that'll bring a unique and robust flavor that outshines its other common counterparts.

Yuzu kosho is a fermented chili and citrus paste made from yuzu, a Japanese citrus, Thai green or red chilies, and salt, mashed together and fermented for a few days. This chili paste provides a salty, spicy, umami-rich profile with strong vegetal and citrus notes. In Japanese cuisine, yuzu kosho is often mixed into soy sauce as a condiment to pair with sashimi, since its fermentation adds a funky umami that complements the oceanic umami of raw fish. By that rationale, it'll be the perfect pairing to enhance canned tuna. Plus, the heat of the chili peppers and brightness of the yuzu will season a bland, creamy mayonnaise-based sauce all on their own.

You don't have to change anything about your tuna salad recipe; simply add a quarter to half a teaspoon of yuzu kosho to the mayonnaise and other wet ingredients before tossing in the tuna and mixing. A little bit goes a long way. And since yuzu kosho is quite salty, you may want to leave the salt out of your recipe.

Yuzu kosho will pair well in most recipes, from a crunchy green goddess tuna salad to an everything green tuna salad. A sweet addition, like green grapes or sweet pickle relish, will complement and temper its spicy, salty profile. Add it to a recipe for a simple yet refined tuna sandwich, and garnish with Sriracha mayo for a bold twist.

Since yuzu kosho takes your tuna salad in a Japanese direction, you can complete the transition with additional ingredient swaps, additions, and serving pairings. For example, swap a typical Western mayo brand for the Japanese-born and beloved Kewpie mayo. If your tuna salad calls for vinegar, use rice vinegar instead. Bring out the citrus notes of the yuzu kosho by adding lime or lemon zest. Stir in nori flakes to amp up the umami even more.

As for serving ideas, you can incorporate yuzu kosho-spiked tuna salad into a Japanese rice ball or use it as a sushi roll filling, pairing it with cucumber and carrot spears and garnishing with scallions and fresh jalapeño. Or serve a scoop alongside an Asian-inspired coleslaw and simple Kewpie mayo egg salad — another popular Japanese sandwich filler — to create a trio salad lunch platter.