Tuna Balls

These tuna balls are a budget friendly delightful appetizer, snack, or main dish that the whole family can enjoy! With the popularity of canned goods due to lockdown recently there are just so many ideal recipes to choose from. One such tasty recipe is these delectable looking tuna balls that are not only yummy but also aesthetically pleasing to look at. A scrumptiously delightful easy to do recipe that only needs a few minutes to make!

Tuna health benefits

Tuna is a species that has a round 15 varieties. Belonging to the Sombridae and mackerel family that also include the albacore and bonitos. With so many benefits found in tuna such as having a low glycemic index that’s a great source of Vitamin B3, B12, B6, D, selenium, phosphorus, protein, and potassium. Containing also the following, Vitamin B1, B2, iodine, and choline. These help increase collagen production which exhibits anti-wrinkle and anti-aging effects. The fatty acids in tuna also help moisture dry skin and give you a glow within, and increase skin elasticity. The abundance of the selenium gives the body an immunity boost. While many do nutrients in the tuna support bone health, with some species of tuna such as yellow fin tuna has Vitamin D, which plays a role in the calcium absorption. But the skipjack species does not. Tuna is also good for heart support from the potassium and being a source of Vitamin B that support a healthy functioning heart. Being a popular delicious source of energy from the Vitamin B12 and B, from improving metabolism and its help with efficiently helping the body organs function. it produces DNA and keeps the blood cells and body’s nerves healthy, preventing megaloblastic anemia. The Vitamin B3 in Tuna also help prevent and heal from stroke. Regular tuna intake helps not only maintain brain health and cellular energy metabolism.

We know fresh Tuna is good for the body. How about canned tuna? Canned Tuna may just be as good, with almost the same benefits as the freshly caught or bought tuna from the wet market. Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan being the top tuna catchers with Canned tuna has 53% of global sale value, and Japan being the highest consumer of fresh tuna and the highest consumer of canned tune being the United States.

Why try to make these Tuna Balls?

These tuna balls are a nice frugal alternative to the usual tuna dishes like spicy tuna rice. Tuna pasta, or plain tuna cooked with additional spices like onions and garlic. These tuna balls are also fun looking that it helps to get kids to eat some omega-3 into their diet. These absolutely delicious and simple to make tuna balls just need a mix of chopped vegetables like carrots, spring onions, onions, and garlic, with the canned tuna, then add the dry ingredients such as all purpose flour to bind everything together, cornstarch to make it crispy, and baking powder to make it puff up and turn bigger, these are then mixed with a little water at a time to made everything bind together to a mushy paste, then finally add some salt and pepper to enhance the taste. These are ten formed to 2 teaspoonful of balls and dropped into a boiling hot pot of oil, fried to a golden crisp, taken out to strain the excess oil or use a skewer to poke the ball and take them out to cool down remove the excess oil. Enjoy these healthy spin on the canned tuna with a side of your favorite chili or simple sauce.

With ingredients that might already be stocked up in your cupboard that you can just throw together and creates in less than 7 minutes. 

Tuna Balls

Recipe rating: N/A

Course: Snacks, Main

Servings

4

servings

Reinvent your canned tuna into a delicious snack

Ingredients

• 1 can tuna (corned tuna)

• ¼ cup carrot (grated)

• 2 tablespoons spring onion

• 1 onion (minced)

• 3 cloves garlic (minced)

• ½ cup all purpose flour

• ½ cup cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/3 cup water (adjust as needed)

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• In a bowl, place the tuna in with the carrots, onions, garlic, spring onion and mix well.
• Mix in all purpose flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Pour in a small amount of water at a time, adding only till you get a nice thick consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
• Heat oil in a pan at medium low heat, to check if it’s hot enough, place a top of a bamboo skewer in and if it bubbles, then it’s ready.
• Using 2 teaspoons, shape the mixture to balls and carefully drop it into the hot oil. Fry till golden brown. Repeating till there is no batter left.
• Once cooked, take it out of the pan and place them on a strainer to remove excess oil. You can also use a bamboo stick to skewer them out.
• Enjoy with your favorite dip!

Tuna Balls recipe (tagalog)

Sahog

• 1 lata ng tuna (corned tuna)
• ¼ tasa karot (ginadgad)
• 2 kutsarang dahon ng sibuyas
• 1 sibuyas (tinadtad)
• 3 butil ng bawang (tinadtad)
• ½ tasa harina
• ½ tasa cornstarch
• 1 kutsarang baking powder
• 1/3 tasa tubig (depende sa kinakailangan)
• asin at paminta panlasa

Paano lutuin

1. Sa isang mangkok, ihalo ang tuna, karot, sibuyas, bawang, at dahon ng sibuyas.
2. Haluin ang harina, cornstarch, at baking powder. Ibuhos pakonti-konti ang tubig, lagyan lang ang kailangan para kumapal ang batter. Lagyan ng asin at paminta pampalasa at haluin ng mabuti.
3. Uminit ng mantika sa kawali na may katamtamang init. Para malaman kung tama na ang init. Gumamit ng bamboo skewer at ilagay ang dulo nito at pag bumula, handa na ang mantika.
4. Gamit ang 2 kutsarita, imolde ang batter ng bola at dahan dahan ito patak sa mantika. Lutuin hanggang maging kayumanggi ang kulay. Ulitin hanggang maubos ang batter.
5. Pag naluto na, tanggalin ito sa kawali at ilugar sa salaan para matanggal ang sobrang mantika. Pwede ding gumamit ng bamboo skewer para kunin ang mga ito.
6. Ienjoy kasama ang paboritong sarsa!