In Japan, Chirashi is traditionally served on special occasions and at parties. You can think of it as deconstructed sushi beautifully decorated with bright, colourful toppings. Usually it's served in a big sharing bowl, but it makes a great individual, one-bowl meal too.
360 g/2 scant cups uncooked Japanese rice
5 x 10-cm/2 x 4-inch piece of kombu
1 tbsp sake
SUSHI VINEGAR
60 ml/¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
1 tsp salt
TUNA FLAKES
60 g/2¼ oz. can tuna in oil
1 tbsp sake
1½ tsp soft light brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
THIN EGG RIBBONS
2 UK large/US extra-large eggs
1 tsp sake
½ tsp golden caster sugar
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
EXTRA TOPPINGS
250 g/9 oz. fresh sashimi
½ ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
4 cooked tiger prawns/jumbo shrimp
4 mangetout/snow peas, blanched and cut in half
4 red radishes, thinly sliced
4 tbsp salmon roe
Soy sauce
(Serves 4)
Rinse the rice in a sieve/strainer under cold running water, mixing with your hands. Leave to drain and dry for 30 minutes.
Place the rice in a heavy-based saucepan with a lid and add 360 ml/1½ cups of water. (This is a little different from the standard ratio for cooking rice, as extra moisture comes from the seasonings. Sushi rice grown in countries other than Japan tends to be slightly drier, so if using this add 10% more water). Add the kombu and the sake. Bring to the boil over a high heat. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave for 10 minutes with the lid on. All the water should have been absorbed by the rice.
To make the sushi vinegar, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a jug/pitcher. Mix until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
Wet the surface of a wooden sushi mixing bowl (or use a wide shallow glass or ceramic dish) to prevent the rice sticking. Place the rice into the bowl and pour the sushi vinegar over, gently cutting and mixing the rice sideways with a spatula so that the rice grains don’t break. Leave to cool for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the tuna flakes, drain the tuna, reserving 1 tablespoon of oil from the can. Add the reserved oil to a small frying pan/skillet over a medium heat. Add the tuna, sake, sugar and soy sauce. Fry, while stirring constantly with four chopsticks or a whisk, for about 5 minutes until the liquid has evaporated to leave fine tuna flakes. Set aside to cool.
For the egg ribbons, break the eggs into a small mixing bowl and add the sake, sugar and salt. Mix well until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Heat a medium frying pan/skillet over a medium heat and wipe the pan with a paper towel soaked in the vegetable oil. Pour in a quarter of the beaten eggs, tilting the pan so it spreads evenly. After 30 seconds when the surface is cooked, turn over and cook for 2 seconds, then slide onto a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat to make three more thin omelettes. Cut the omelettes in half, then roll them up and thinly slice widthways into ribbons.
Divide the sushi rice between serving bowls and top with the tuna flakes, egg ribbons and any extra toppings of your choice.
This recipe is from Atsuko's Japanese Kitchen by Atsuko Ikeda. To get more great blog posts like this one - direct to your inbox – be sure to sign up to our mailing list here.