Tortang tuna (Filipino tuna omelette)
Little golden omelette patties packed with tuna, onion and carrot, the Filipino pantry dinner served with rice and ketchup.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.56 a serving
- 520 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 5 large eggs
- 2 cans canned tuna, drained well
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 2¼ cups water
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
Each serving has about 520 calories, 26 g protein, 65 g carbs and 17 g fat, and costs about $1.56 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No canned tuna? Canned salmon works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No shredded carrots? Carrots work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the rice and water in a medium and over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Beat the eggs in a bowl, then in the tuna, onion, garlic, carrot, salt and pepper until evenly mixed.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick over medium heat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heat
Scoop in ⅓-cup portions of the mixture, three at a time, and flatten each into a round about ½ inch thick.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Stir the bowl before every scoop. The egg sinks and the tuna floats.Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until and set all the way through. Repeat with the rest, adding oil as needed.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Flip with a wide spatula in one quick move. If one tears, press it back together; the egg glues it.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Serve the tortang tuna with the rice, ketchup for dipping and green onions on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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Pantry dinners ›Tuna recipes for kids ›What to make with eggs and rice ›What to make with rice and carrots ›What to make with eggs and carrots ›