Recipe: Peter Kuruvita's Devilled Tuna

A popular spicy Sri Lankan dish, save this devilled tuna recipe by Australian foremost chef and restaurateur Peter Kuruvita up your sleeve.

Region: Sri Lanka | Serves: 4 | Difficulty: Easy

Prep: 15 mins | Marinating: 10 mins | Cooking: 10 mins

All the vegetables in this dish should be crunchy, so it’s important you add them to the wok in the correct order.

You can substitute the tuna with beef, chicken or more vegetables.

Ingredients

• 300 g tuna fillet, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 sprig of curry leaves, plus extra to serve
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, peeled, quartered
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped
• 2 leeks, washed, chopped
• 3 banana chillies, chopped
• 2 long red chillies, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped, plus extra to serve

For the sweet and sour sauce:
• 3 tbsp tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp vinegar

Method

1. Place the tuna in a bowl with salt, chilli powder, curry leaves and lime juice. Stir to coat the tuna and set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.

2. To make the sweet and sour sauce, combine the tomato sauce and vinegar and set aside until ready to use.

3. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Once it reaches smoking point, add the onion, garlic and leek. Cook for a few minutes, until the mixture is fragrant and the onion is translucent.

4. Add the chillies and fry for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the tuna and toss to coat in the spice mixture. Stir in the sweet and sour sauce and cover. Leave to cook for a few minutes, or until the tuna is just cooked.

6. Season with salt and pepper and serve sprinkled with curry leaves and the reserved chilli.

Recipe featured in My Sri Lanka with Peter Kuruvita.

Celebrity chef, Peter Kuruvita has led a number of specialty culinary tours with World Expeditions, with a knack for really knowing how to bond with locals anywhere over a mutual love of food and produce.

Famous for his signature style of quality local produce with a focus on seafood spiced with Sri Lankan and world flavours, join him on his next food fused adventure where he is with you every step of the tour. Enjoy hands-on cooking demonstrations with Peter and the chance to know the local's lore and their cooking secrets.

View culinary tours with Peter Kuruvita