Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Cooking Lab - Salmon Chirashi Sushi (ちらし寿司)

For those of you that never had it, chirashi sushi is a bowl of vinegared sushi rice topped with colourful toppings make it looks very festive.

It is not as hard as it looks. Once you've got all ingredients, it can be assembled under 30mins!!

Delicious, Stunning and suitable for festive occasions!


(c) GMV - Got My Vote!

My take for tonight is a bit extravagant, capturing the essence of the sea. 

Rushed out to the fish market in the morning before the NYE road closure. The ingredients aren't cheap, but it's still cheaper than going to a sushi restaurant and pay a premium surcharge for tonight.
Ingredients:
- Sushi Rice 2 cups
- **Secret Weapon** Chirashi Sushi Mix $6.99/ packet (contained pre-cooked lotus root, carrot, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushroom seasoned in sweet vinegar pouch)

All Seafood are from the Sydney Fish Market:
- Sashimi Salmon 500g @ $49.95/kg from Peter's Fish Market
- Cooked Medium Tiger's Prawns 500g @ $28.95/kg from De Costi Seafoods
- Japanese seasoned seaweed $3.00/packet from Claudio
- Avocardo x 1
Instructions
1. Cook the rice in a rice cooked use less water than you normally would.
2. Once the rice is cooked, spread it out on a large flat bowl and let it cool down.
3. Pour the gomoku (五目) vinegar mixture packet over the rice, start fanning and use a rice spatula to gently stir the rice using circular spreading motions. 

Note** (Do not mash - this is not a mash potato, that is the last dish :D, or destroy the rice grain particle. The secret is trying to evenly distribute the vinegar and prevent the rice from sticking together! Each rice grain should glisten!!)

4.Place the rice in a serving platter/bowl and let it cool down to room temperature completely before placing the toppings. 

Assemble Plating:
5. Place peeled prawn in star pattern. Insert a slice of salmon sashimi in between the gap. Loosely sprinkle the Japanese seasoned seaweed around. Place Avocardo slices on top. 
6. Edge the bowl with the rest of the cooked prawns. What is Summer without peeling your own prawns?!!
Topped with a large sashimi rose to symbolize a blossoming year to come :)

7. Overlap half a piece of sashimi with the next one and roll them up!! Put a dash of wasabi paste at the center.

8. Lastly, scattered the dry seaweed & seasme seeds on top!! (It comes with the Chirashi Mix) - and ready to be served! 

Traditionally, Chirashi ingredients should cut into (上品) elegant small pieces, but Sis is into big mouthfuls of flavorsome food - 歯ごたい or as she says 'chew-worthiness' :D 

Plus, Sydney has an abundance of fresh seafood at hands - so why not!
Fresh ingredients, natural flavor and the elegance of the presentation .. I always get abundance of joy whenever I make this dish.

It was a knockout and guests gasped in admiration when saw it. It tastes as good as it looks!!

No wonder D commented on this one luxury way of eating sashimi! They were all gone relatively quickly~