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These fun and easy football (soccer) shaped tuna rice balls are perfect for lunch boxes, healthy snacks or football themed party food!
The EURO 2021 Football tournament is starting this week and I've got a fun football themed recipe to celebrate!
These easy tuna rice balls are decorated to look like footballs and they're easier to make than you might think! They are great for popping in lunch boxes or serving up for fun and healthy football themed party food - why not make a batch for the whole family to snack on while you watch the next big game!
I made six large rice balls as I found them easier to make in a larger size, but you can of course make the mixture go a bit further with smaller rice balls if wanted.
I filled my rice balls with a simple tuna mayo filling, but you can use any filling of your choice - finely chopped veggies such as avocado, cucumber or peppers work well and make great alternatives if you'd prefer a vegetarian or vegan rice ball.
Football Tuna Rice Balls
Ingredients (makes 6):
- 250g sushi rice
- 3 tbs sushi vinegar
- 120g tin tuna in spring water
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 sheet nori (dried seaweed)
Method:
Start by cooking the sushi rice. Pop the rice into a sieve and clean thoroughly by running cold water through it until the water runs clear.
Place the rice in a saucepan with 330ml water. Cover with a tight fitting lid and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes turn the heat off and leave the pan to stand (DO NOT remove the lid!) for 25-30 minutes.
Once the rice is cooked through, fluff it up with a fork, then pour over the sushi vinegar and stir to combine well.
Pop the rice into a bowl to cool down.
Whilst the rice is cooling, drain the tuna then flake into a bowl and mix with the mayonnaise until completely combined. Season to taste with a little black pepper if wanted.
Once cool, lay a sheet of clingfilm on your kitchen work surface and spoon on a generous tablespoon of rice. Flatten the rice with the back of the spoon to form a flat circle in the centre of the clingfilm (top tip - wet the spoon and your fingertips with cold water to make it easier handle the sticky rice).
Using a teaspoon, spoon some tuna into the centre of the rice.
Pick up the edges of the clingfilm and use to gather the rice into a ball around the tuna.
Twist the clingfilm to mould the rice into a tight ball.
Carefully remove the rice ball from the clingfilm and place onto a plate.
Repeat until you have used up all the rice.
Cut the sheet of nori (dried seaweed) into strips. Fold each strip back and forth until you have a folded square, then use clean kitchen scissors to cut it into a pentagon (mine were hexagons, oops!). You should then be able to separate it out into a whole pile of separate pentagons.
Use the nori pentagons to decorate the rice balls to look like footballs - just press them onto the rice ball and they will stick in place by themselves.
Serve immediately or cover and pop in the fridge until ready to serve.
Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this recipe you might also like these easy lunchbox rice based recipes too:
Rainbow Rice Salad Jars
Easy Rainbow Vegetable Sushi
Lunchbox Rice Salad Pots
Or for more fun food ideas like this one, check out the fun food tutorials page here on the blog where you'll find fun food ideas for every occasion!
Grace
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote
Football Tuna Rice Balls
These fun and easy football (soccer) shaped tuna rice balls are perfect for lunch boxes, healthy snacks or football themed party food!
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time35 minutes mins
Total Time45 minutes mins
Course: Lunch, Party Food
Cuisine: Japanese
Servings: 6 rice balls
Author: Grace Hall
Ingredients
- 250 g sushi rice
- 3 tbs sushi vinegar
- 120 g tin tuna in spring water
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 sheet nori dried seaweed
Metric - US Cups/Ounces
Instructions
Start by cooking the sushi rice. Pop the rice into a sieve and clean thoroughly by running cold water through it until the water runs clear.
Place the rice in a saucepan with 330ml water. Cover with a tight fitting lid and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes turn the heat off and leave the pan to stand (DO NOT remove the lid!) for 25-30 minutes.
Once the rice is cooked through, fluff it up with a fork, then pour over the sushi vinegar and stir to combine well.
Pop the rice into a bowl to cool down.
Whilst the rice is cooling, drain the tuna then flake into a bowl and mix with the mayonnaise until completely combined. Season to taste with a little black pepper if wanted.
Once cool, lay a sheet of clingfilm on your kitchen work surface and spoon on a generous tablespoon of rice. Flatten the rice with the back of the spoon to form a flat circle in the centre of the clingfilm (top tip - wet the spoon and your fingertips with cold water to make it easier handle the sticky rice).
Using a teaspoon, spoon some tuna into the centre of the rice.
Pick up the edges of the clingfilm and use to gather the rice into a ball around the tuna.
Twist the clingfilm to mould the rice into a tight ball.
Carefully remove the rice ball from the clingfilm and place onto a plate.
Repeat until you have used up all the rice.
Cut the sheet of nori (dried seaweed) into strips. Fold each strip back and forth until you have a folded square, then use clean kitchen scissors to cut it into a pentagon. You should then be able to separate it out into a whole pile of separate pentagons.
Use the nori pentagons to decorate the rice balls to look like footballs - just press them onto the rice ball and they will stick in place by themselves.
Serve immediately or cover and pop in the fridge until ready to serve.
Love this fun recipe? Why not save it to Pinterest so you can easily find it again!
