These vegan tuna crispy rice bites are unapologetically inspired by the original at Nobu, but with a plant-based spin. It’s the kind of thing that disappears in minutes at a party — which makes it the perfect summer appetiser for your next hosting moment.

Crispy rice is having its moment – in salads, in omelettes, in everything, really. But the original? I’d say that’s still Nobu’s iconic spicy tuna crispy bites. Our vegan take on it has sweet, marinated watermelon standing in for the soft, briny depth of tuna, layered over impossibly golden, crunchy rice sheaths, finished with creamy avocado and that signature spicy-mayo drizzle.

How To Make These Vegan Tuna Crispy Rice Bites

Step 1: Marinate the watermelon

Slice watermelon into wedges or cubes.
Mix together soy sauce, vinegar/lime juice, honey, and toasted sesame seeds.
Add watermelon, coat well, and refrigerate for at least 4–6 hours or overnight.

Step 2: Prep your rice

Mix cooked short-grain rice with chilli oil and vinegar.
Press into a cling film-lined loaf tin, flattening the surface completely.
Freeze overnight.

Step 3: Cook your rice

Slice the frozen block into individual pieces.
Bake, air-fry, or shallow-fry until golden and crisp. Pro tip: The rice releases chilli oil as it cooks, so go easy on any extra oil if shallow-frying

Step 4: Assemble

Layer each crispy rice block with avocado, marinated watermelon, spicy mayo, and a scatter of sesame seeds… and dive in!

Vegan Tuna Crispy Rice Bites

Ayushi Gupta-Mehra | The Foodie Diaries

Sweet, juicy watermelon marinated in soy and sesame, layered over shatteringly crispy rice, finished with avocado and spicy mayo. This is your new favourite summer appetiser!

Rate this recipe

Print Recipe

Prep Time 12

Cook Time 20

Course Appetiser, Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Asian Fusion, Contemporary

Servings 4

Ingredients

For the watermelon tuna

2 cups watermelon (sliced in wedges/ cubes)
4 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp vinegar/ lime juice
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
2-3 tsp honey (optional)

For the crispy rice

1½-2 cups cooked short-grain rice (sushi rice/ jasmine rice)
1-1½ tbsp chilli oil
1-2 tbsp vinegar
oil of choice (for cooking)

To assemble

1 avocado, sliced
spicy mayo (see notes below for preparation)

Instructions

Marinate the watermelon

In a large bowl, mix together the light soy sauce, lime juice/ vinegar toasted sesame seeds and honey.
Add the watermelon wedges/ cubes to this marinade, turning them gently until they’re completely coated. Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours/ overnight.

For the crispy rice

Mix together the cooked rice, chilli oil and vinegar in a bowl.
Line a loaf tin with cling film and spoon the rice mixture inside, flattening out the surface completely. Freeze overnight. Once ready to use, slice the frozen block into individual pieces.
You can bake/ air-fry or shallow-fry these crispy rice blocks in a hot pan until crisp and golden. Do remember that the rice will release chilli oil when cooking, so you don’t need to add too much oil to the pan if shallow-frying.

Assemble

To assemble, layer the crispy bites with avocado, the vegan tuna, spicy mayo (literally just mayo mixed with hot sauce!) and sesame seeds… and DIVE IN!