Whole Tomato Salad is a ripe tomato, hollowed out and packed with creamy tuna salad — simple, a little retro, and oddly satisfying. It’s not Japanese food exactly, but it has a special place in the old Yoshoku (洋食) dining scene, the kind of dish that felt quietly fancy at family restaurants and dining halls back in the day. Simple as it is, that’s exactly the charm.
What’s Whole Tomato Salad
Whole Tomato Salad is nothing special by today’s standards — just a hollowed-out tomato filled with creamy, mayo-seasoned tuna. But once upon a time, it held a kind of quiet magic.
When it comes to this dish, many people in Japan think of Touyoutei, a long-established western-style restaurant in Kyoto. Founded in 1897, it’s one of the city’s oldest Yoshoku spots, with over 120 years of history. The original concept was straightforward: bring Western cuisine — once considered a luxury — to the everyday people of Kyoto at an affordable price. That spirit lives on today, and the Whole Tomato Salad remains one of their most beloved signature dishes. What sets their version apart is the sauce — Aurora Sauce, a simple blend of mayonnaise and ketchup similar to Thousand Island dressing. Humble as it sounds, it’s exactly the kind of finishing touch that made the dish feel a little extra special.
That said, this style of salad wasn’t exclusive to Touyoutei. Western-style restaurants and diners across Japan throughout the Showa era (1926–1989) regularly featured dishes like this — a little fancy, a little Western, entirely at home on the menu. It was part of a broader story: as Japan gradually opened to the West around a century ago, Western cuisine began adapting to local tastes, blending and evolving until it earned its own identity as Yoshoku — a distinctly Japanese take on Western food.
The Whole Tomato Salad fits neatly into that tradition. French cuisine has a technique called Tomate Farcie — stuffed tomatoes — and it’s easy to imagine that idea finding its way into Japan’s Yoshoku scene, eventually settling into the simple, familiar form we know today. No complicated technique, no fuss — yet somehow it felt special. That’s probably exactly what made it such a perfect fit for the Showa-era table.
Tips and substitutions for Whole Tomato Salad
- Choosing your tomatoes — Ripe tomatoes taste the best, but they can be tricky to hollow out without losing their shape. If you’re serving guests and want a neater presentation, go for slightly firmer ones — they’re much easier to work with.
- Add some crunch — Feel free to mix chopped pickled vegetables into the tuna salad, like gherkins or cornichons. They add a little tang and texture that works really well against the creaminess.
- Too rich? — With both the tuna salad and Aurora Sauce, the dish can lean on the heavier side. If that’s not your thing, skip the Aurora Sauce and drizzle a simple oil and vinegar dressing instead — or nothing at all. The tuna salad already brings plenty of flavor on its own.
More recipes like Whole Tomato Salad
Stuffed tomato salad with creamy tuna mixture — retro western-style Japanese salad
Remove the stems from the tomatoes, then make a shallow X-shaped incision on the opposite side. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Gently lower the tomatoes into the water. After about 10 seconds, when the skin begins to peel back, remove them. Transfer to cold water, then peel the skin starting from the loosened area. Remove and drain well.
Drain the canned tuna and flake it if using chunk-style. Finely chop the onion. In a bowl, combine the tuna, onion, and mayonnaise, and mix well.
Cut off the stem end of the peeled tomatoes. Using a spoon, scoop out the inside to about halfway deep, removing some of the flesh.
Fill the tomatoes with the tuna mixture a little at a time, then smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Place them in a tray or container and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Plate the tomatoes and pour the dressing over them.
Noriko and Yuko, the authors of this site, are originally from Japan and now live in California. They love cooking and eating great food, and share a passion for home cooking with fresh ingredients.
Together, Noriko and Yuko plan and develop recipes for Japanese Cooking 101. They cook and photograph their dishes, and film videos in their home kitchens.
English (US) · 