There are some nights when you want dinner and you want it quick. This easy canned tuna curry can be made in just a few minutes. There’s very little prep work. The toughest bit is opening a can. Just cut up a bit of onion, chop some garlic, grate some ginger, and open a can of tuna. Yes, canned tuna.
If you make extra rice in advance (as I usually do), you just have to heat that up and you have dinner. It’s curry in a hurry.
I adapted this recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick & Easy Indian Cooking. Her recipe made two or three servings, which I have reduced. She calls for fresh chopped cilantro (which I never have, so I used a bit of dried coriander, which is the same thing). If you do have the fresh version, use 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons.
I have also simplified the preparation a bit. Yes, it’s possible to want to speed up even a canned tuna curry recipe! I was in a rush! And I was hungry. Rather than slicing the onions into rounds, I chopped them. I grated the ginger with my microplane zester, instead of slicing it into strips; I didn’t want to bite down on big hunks of ginger! Besides, this way is faster.
If you don’t have fresh ginger, ground is fine. No fresh jalapeño? Use canned chilis instead. Don’t have that either? Red pepper flakes work too.
Easy Tuna Curry
Canned tuna curry in a hurry. An easy quick dinner you can make in minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 T canola oil
- 1/2 small onion, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 small clove garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon hot curry powder
- 1 five oz. can tuna, packed in oil
- 1/4 -1/2 jalapeño pepper
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- pinch dried coriander
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot add the chopped onions and garlic.
- Stir the mixture in the pan until the onion starts to get brown.
- Add the hot curry powder and stir.
- Now add the tuna (make sure to use tuna in oil so it won't dry out),
- Reduce the heat to low, add the jalapeño, ginger, and coriander. Stir it all together.
- Add a little salt to taste (the tuna will be salty) and a generous grinding of black pepper.
- Mix that all in the pan and then spoon it out onto a plate.
More Quick Fish Recipes
Pan Fried Tilapia with Lemon Butter Sauce
Just a few ingredients and you’ve got a fancy-looking dinner. Tilapia is mild, so it’s a good “starter” fish. It’s mostly pantry ingredients (you just need to buy fish; Trader Joe’s usually has it frozen).
Indian Fish Fillet in Yogurt Sauce
A few minutes prep and twenty minutes of baking. The sauce tastes rich and creamy, but it’s made with yogurt so no guilt. There’s a bit of heat, but it’s subtle, not overpowering.
Tuna Cannellini Bean Salad Recipe for One
Got beans? Mix them with some tuna, serve with bread or fruit and you have a meal. You don’t even have to actually cook anything. All pantry staples, other than the scallion. If you don’t have one, use onion.
Greek Fish with Lemon and Tomatoes
A few basic ingredients, an easy marinade and a quick pan-fry produces a delicious dinner in a few minutes. One bowl, one pan, one meal.
That really is very quick! And sounds so convenient and delicious. I bet it pairs very well with plain rice!
It does! I hadn’t intended it originally for crisis cooking, but it works!
Can I use your picture for this recipe? I will credit your blog in my magazine!!!
Hi Annette,
Sure. And thank you for asking permission.
Be careful up there!