Tag Archive for 'sushi'

Chirashi Sushi

For those of you that have never had it, chirashi sushi i a bowl of vinegared sushi rice topped with a bunch of colorful stuff. At most sushi restaurants this means covering the rice with slices of various raw fish, but that’s not always how it’s made.

Growing up my mom used to make a vegetarian version with simmered shitake mushrooms, carrots, egg, sugar peas and benishoga (red ginger) for any potluck or party we’d go to. It makes for a great party dish because it’s something you eat at room temperature and the ticker-tape-confetti of toppings makes it look very festive.

My rendition is a bit more decadent, capturing the essence of the sea. The ingredients aren’t cheap, but it’s still cheaper than going to a local sushi restaurant and it isn’t nearly as hard to prepare as it looks. I made this in about an hour, but if you make some of the stuff ahead of time it can be assembled in even less time.

If you’re squeamish about uni (or any of the other ingredients) you could obviously sub them out, but steamed uni is not nearly as off-putting as the raw kind they have at sushi restaurants. Cooking it gives it more structure making it more cheese like in texture (though not flavour) while retaining its sweet creaminess.
Continue for full recipe

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Hamachi with yuzu and olive oil

This is actually one of my favourite ways to have sashimi. It’s so simple and light, somewhere between carpaccio and ceviche. The 2 types of yuzu add a phenomenal flavor with a floral tartness form the juice and a bit of green spice from the yuzu kosho. The salt crystals, provide little bursts of brine on your tongue and the olive oil brings it all together without being greasy.

What’s yuzu kosho you ask? It’s one of my favourite condiments, right up there with Thai sweet chili sauce. It’s made with yuzu rind, green chiles and salt making a rough paste (a bit like wasabi) that’s spicy, salty and intensely citrusy. It’s a little too potent to use like ketchup, but it can be mixed into mayo, dressings, olive oil, soups, sautes, bbq sauces, the list goes on… It is a bit hard to find, but I scoured the Internet and found it here for about 12 bucks. Sounds a bit pricey for such a small bottle, but trust me, it goes a long way.

Well, I’m off to Houston for the rest of the week, so I won’t be posting till I get back on Monday, but I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

sashimi grade hamachi (yellowtail)
yuzu kosho
good quality olive oil
yuzu juice (you could substitute lemon or lime juice)
sea salt ( I used Portuguese fleur de sel)

Put a plate in the freezer for a few minutes to get it very cold.

Using a very sharp knife, and cold hands, slice the hamachi into thin slices.

Place the hamachi on the chilled plate then place a small dab of yuzu kosho on each slice. Drizzle with olive oil, a couple of splashes of yuzu juice and then sprinkle some sea salt on top.

Serve immediately.

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