What is Mugen Piman?
The word “mugen (無限)” means “infinite” in Japanese. It refers to a dish that’s so delicious you could eat it endlessly. It’s not a specific dish but rather a concept and a movement, so there’s no fixed way of making it.
This time, I’m using green peppers and canned tuna. If you love green bell peppers, have some to use up or grow them in your garden, please give it a try!
Key Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Green bell peppers: In Japan, we use a small, slightly bitter variety called piman, but any green bell peppers you can find in your local market will work great.
- Canned tuna: It doesn’t matter if you pack it in oil or water, both work great! Just remember to drain off any extra liquid before adding it to your dish.
- Vinegar: I used rice vinegar, but feel free to use white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or any similar mild vinegar you have on hand.
- Mayonnaise: Japanese-style mayonnaise gives this dish its authentic flavor with its rich, slightly tangy profile. However, any good-quality mayonnaise will work if Japanese varieties aren’t available.
- Other ingredients: Round out the flavor profile with toasted sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce, chicken bouillon powder, dashi granules, sesame seeds, and bonito flakes.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Mugen Piman at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
If you prefer to watch the process in action, check out my YouTube video of this Mugen Piman recipe for a complete visual walkthrough!
To prep for this recipe, slice the green peppers into thin strips and mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Pour some cooking oil into a frying pan and fry the peppers over medium-low heat for about a minute.
After 1 minute, when the peppers have softened slightly but still retain some crispness, pour the sauce over them and stir-fry until they’re evenly coated.
Keep cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated, then take it off the heat and put it in a big mixing bowl.
Add the thoroughly drained tuna, mayonnaise and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil to the bowl and mix everything together.
Serve on a plate and sprinkle with bonito flakes and ground black pepper to finish.
I hope you enjoy this Mugen Piman recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Addictive Vegetables
- Mugen “Infinite” Cabbage Salad
- Japanese Potato Salad (Izakaya Style)
- Crispy Rice Salad with Salmon (Japanese Flavor Twist)
- Yamitsuki Smashed Cucumber Salad
Hungry for more? Explore my yamitsuki recipe collection to find your next favorite dishes!
Mugen Piman (Addictive Green Bell Pepper Stir Fry)
Ingredients
- ½ tbsp cooking oil
- 250 g green bell peppers
- 50 g canned tuna drained
- ½ tbsp Japanese mayonnaise or regular mayonnaise
- ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil
Sauce ingredients
- ½ tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1 tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp rice vinegar or other mild vinegar
- ½ tsp dashi granules
Toppings
- bonito flakes (katsuobushi) to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
My recommended brands of ingredients and seasonings can be found in my Japanese pantry guide.
Can’t find certain Japanese ingredients? See my substitution guide here.
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add ½ tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds, 1 tsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp rice vinegar and ½ tsp dashi granules. Mix and set by the stove for later. Cut 250 g green bell peppers into thin strips.
- Heat a pan on medium-low and add ½ tbsp cooking oil. Once hot, add the peppers and fry for 1 minute.
- Pour the prepared sauce into the pan and continue to stir-fry until the bell pepper is evenly coated and the excess liquid has evaporated.
- Transfer the bell peppers to a heatproof mixing bowl and add 50 g canned tuna, ½ tbsp Japanese mayonnaise and ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil. Mix until evenly distributed.
- Serve with a sprinkle of bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and ground black pepper. Enjoy!
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