Genius White TikToker Invents Dish Called “Tunaquitos” Where She Rolls Raw Fish in Rice

How has nobody ever thought to combine these ingredients together??

July 7, 2022

By: Grant Yang

Avid Food Influencer Melissa Harmon (@EatPrayMelissa) has gone viral on TikTok for her latest creation, “tunaquitos,” which involved wrapping raw fish in a layer of white rice and seaweed. “I kinda just came up with this dish on the spot,” Harmon stated in her TikTok video, “I’m surprised nobody has done this before. It’s delicious!”

“This dish was inspired by my Latina roots from when I learned Spanish for three years in high school,” Harmon continued, “I combined my love for taquitos with all the fresh fish I ate growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I guess my creativity just inspired such a wonderfully flavorful treat! If you want to make this at home, be sure to credit @EatPrayMelissa!”

Some Asian fans were quick to point out that the dish resembled the traditional Japanese dish, “sushi.”  Follower Keito Furukawa stated in a comment, “White influencers have profited off of Asian cultures by replicating dishes in a cheaper, inauthentic manner without crediting the generations of knowledge that these dishes arose from. We demand accountability from you, Melissa.” Thousands of commenters flooded the account with calls for a public apology.

“Recently, I have been accused of copying my Melissaventions™ from some culture or something nobody has heard of,” Melissa said in a somber voice in a follow-up TikTok, “This is not true because in my video, I used Everything but The Bagel seasoning in the rice and then dipped my Tunaquitos™ in ranch dressing. These are entirely new concepts that I came up with, so the dish belongs to me.” She then ended the apology video with a sponsored ad from HelloFresh without saying sorry a single time.