Ahi Tuna Tower with Avocado and Mango

This impressive Ahi Tuna Tower recipe brings restaurant-style flavor and presentation straight to your home kitchen. With sushi rice, spicy mayo, crab salad, fresh ahi tuna, avocado, cucumber, and a few Asian pantry staples, you can make a beautiful homemade tuna tower without ordering takeout.

This post was first published on Aug 19, 2020 and was last updated on April 30, 2021.

Forget Take-Out! Make Your Own Ahi Tuna Towers at Home

A great ahi tuna tower is one of those dishes that always feels special at an Asian restaurant. It is colorful, fresh, flavorful, and just as beautiful to look at as it is satisfying to eat. During the 2020 quarantine, while cooking at home every day, this restaurant favorite became one of the dishes I wanted to recreate most.

This homemade Ahi Tuna Tower recipe is a fun project meal for anyone who enjoys sushi-inspired flavors. It has layers of seasoned sushi rice, creamy avocado, spicy crab salad, marinated ahi tuna, crispy onions, and optional caviar for a restaurant-style finish. If you do not want to build towers, you can serve the same components as a deconstructed ahi tuna poke bowl.

Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full ingredient measurements and step-by-step instructions.

Key Ingredients

This homemade ahi tuna poke tower is made with four main components: sushi rice, spicy mayo, crab salad, and marinated tuna.

• For the sushi rice, you will need rice wine vinegar, granulated sugar, kosher salt, and dry sushi rice.
• For the spicy mayo, you will need Kewpie mayonnaise and Sriracha. Mix most of it into the crab salad, but reserve a few tablespoons for plating.
• For the crab salad, you will need an 8-ounce package of imitation crab sticks, spicy mayo, Asian-style fried onions, and optional red lumpfish caviar.
• For the tuna, use a quality 8-ounce tuna steak. You will also need fresh chives, half of an English cucumber, soy sauce, mirin, chili flakes, sesame oil, and fresh ginger.

Prepare the Tuna Tower Ingredients

Make the spicy mayo first, because it is used in more than one part of the recipe. It also tastes even better after it has had a little time to sit. All you need is mayonnaise and Sriracha. If you enjoy more heat, add extra Sriracha until the flavor is right for you.

Once the mayo and Sriracha are blended together, you have a creamy, spicy sauce that works as both a sushi-style condiment and the base for the crab salad.

Next, shred the crab sticks into long ribbons. You can pull them apart by hand, similar to a cheese stick, or use two forks.

Reserve a little spicy mayo for decorating the plate, then mix the rest into the shredded crab.

Stir until the crab is evenly coated. If you are using caviar, add a small amount just before serving. Cover and refrigerate the crab salad until needed. It can be prepared up to a day in advance.

Now it is time to marinate the fish. This recipe was tested with both ahi tuna and salmon. Tuna is typically more expensive, while salmon can be a more budget-friendly option. Once marinated, both versions are delicious.

In a large bowl, whisk together the marinade, then add the diced fish and cucumber.

Mix everything together, cover, and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the tuna towers. The fish can marinate for about 2 hours and can hold in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Finally, cook the sushi rice according to the package directions. Season it with a warm mixture of rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt. This gives the rice its classic sushi flavor and helps it hold together. Spread the rice out and let it cool completely before building the towers.

Build the Ahi Tuna Towers

Once every component is prepared, you are ready to build your Ahi Tuna Tower or spicy salmon tower. The order of the layers matters. For the best structure, layer the tower with sushi rice first, then avocado, crab salad, and marinated tuna or salmon on top.

This order keeps the rice from soaking up too much marinade and helps the tower stay upright. The stable layers create a solid base, while the marinated fish stays fresh and glossy on top.

Garnish the finished tower with extra crab salad, a little caviar if using, and a generous sprinkle of crispy onions. The crispy onions add crunch and make the dish taste like a cross between a crispy California roll and a classic tuna tower.

If you choose to make the salmon version, build it in the same order. It is equally delicious and can be more cost-effective.

My Cost-Effective Grocery Shopping Strategy

This recipe was created as part of a grocery-planning approach focused on shopping less often and using ingredients more intentionally. Planning multiple meals at once can make it easier to manage food costs, especially when pantry staples are used across several recipes.

For this homemade ahi tuna tower recipe, the pantry ingredients are counted based on the amount used, not the full purchase price of each bottle or package. Items such as sesame oil, Sriracha, soy sauce, mayonnaise, and sushi rice can be used in many other meals, so they stretch well beyond one recipe.

The Total Cost Breakdown

Making a tuna tower at home can be a smart choice when compared with restaurant pricing. Restaurant versions often cost $15 to $25 or more per serving. With this recipe, you can make multiple servings at home and even use leftovers for a deconstructed ahi tuna poke bowl or sushi-inspired meal later.

Total Cost for Homemade Ahi Tuna Towers

• $15.24 8oz Big Eye Tuna Steak
• $5.98 8oz Salmon Fillet
• $1.29 Cucumber, used half
• $2.99 Crab Sticks
• $1.75 Eel Sauce 1 ea.
• $3.00 Avocados 3 ea.

Pantry Ingredients

• $5.99 Kewpie Mayonnaise, 1/10 of bottle: $0.59
• $1.99 Sriracha, 1/12 of bottle: $0.16
• $5.99 Fried Onions, 1/12 of can: $0.49
• $3.49 Soy Sauce, ⅙ of bottle: $0.58
• $5.64 Sushi Rice, ⅓ of bag: $1.88

Optional Garnish

$5.99 Caviar 1 ea. Half was used.

Tuna-Only Tower Breakdown

$33.96 for 4 total servings
$8.49 per person with caviar ($6.99 per person without caviar)

Salmon-Only Tower Breakdown

$24.70 for 4 total servings
$6.18 per person with caviar ($4.68 per person without caviar)

Why You Should Eat Take Out-Style Food at Home

Eating takeout-style food at home gives you control over flavor, freshness, temperature, and portion size. It may take a little extra time, but preparing a restaurant-inspired dish yourself can be satisfying and often more affordable.

These homemade Ahi Tuna Towers are fresh, layered, and full of texture. The seasoned rice, creamy avocado, spicy crab salad, marinated tuna, and crispy onions work together beautifully. It is a special recipe, but it is approachable when each component is prepared step by step.

And remember, towers are meant to be toppled. Build it, admire it, knock it down, and enjoy every bite.

P.S. If you do not want to build individual towers, serve everything in a bowl for an easy Ahi tuna poke bowl.

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review or comment and share how your ahi tuna tower turned out.

📖 Recipe

Yield: 8 Towers

Ahi Tuna Tower

Prep Time:
30 minutes

Cook Time:
10 minutes

Total Time:
40 minutes

This ahi tuna tower is a restaurant-style sushi-inspired recipe made with seasoned rice, spicy mayo, crab salad, avocado, cucumber, and marinated tuna.

Ingredients

For the rice:

• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 cup sushi rice

For the spicy mayo:

• ½ cup Kewpie mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha
• Reserve 2 tablespoons for plating

For the crab salad:

• 1 8-ounce package crab sticks, shredded
• Spicy mayo
• 2 tablespoons Asian fried onions
• Red lumpfish caviar, optional

For the tuna:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, shoyu
• 1 teaspoon mirin
• ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 8-ounce tuna steak, diced into ¼-inch cubes
• ½ English cucumber, small diced
• 1 tablespoon chives, chopped

To build the tower:

• 2 avocados, smashed
• Asian fried onions
• Eel sauce, from the sushi counter
• Red lumpfish caviar, optional

Instructions

For the rice:

1. Gently warm the rice vinegar, salt, and sugar in the microwave or on the stove just until the sugar and salt dissolve.
2. Cook the sushi rice according to the package directions in a rice cooker, pressure cooker, or pot. When the rice is cooked, transfer it to a shallow bowl or plate and mix in the vinegar mixture. Spread the rice out and allow it to cool completely before using. This can be done up to a day ahead.

For the spicy mayo:

1. In a bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and Sriracha. Taste and adjust the heat level if desired. Reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons for plating.

For the crab salad:

1. Shred the crab sticks by pulling them apart by hand or with two forks. Mix the shredded crab with the remaining spicy mayo. Just before serving, toss in the crispy onions and about 1 teaspoon of caviar if using. If making ahead, store the crab salad in an airtight container and add the onions and caviar just before assembling.

For the tuna:

1. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, mirin, chili flakes, sesame oil, and grated ginger. Stir well. Add the diced tuna and cucumber, then toss to coat. Refrigerate for about 2 hours, or up to 24 hours. Fold in the chives just before building the tower.

To build the tower:

1. In a mold or adjustable measuring cup, add about 1 inch of sushi rice and press it down firmly. Add a layer of smashed avocado, using about ½ avocado per tower, and press again. Add the crab salad, then top with the marinated tuna. Press gently so the layers hold together. Carefully release the tower from the mold. Garnish with extra crab salad, caviar, and crispy onions. Add spicy mayo and eel sauce to the plate if desired. Serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe can be made the same way using sushi-grade salmon.

The caviar is optional and can be omitted to reduce the overall cost.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 grams

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 368
Total Fat: 24g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Trans Fat: 0g
Unsaturated Fat: 19g
Cholesterol: 51mg
Sodium: 1048mg
Carbohydrates: 25g
Fiber: 4g
Sugar: 7g
Protein: 15g

This is an estimated caloric value. Actual numbers may differ based on the ingredients used.