I often cook this ‘Chirashi-zushi’, a type of Sushi which is a kind of decorated rice salad, as a side dish for BBQ. Crunchy ‘Edamame’ are very tasty when mixed with sushi rice. Decorate it with your favourite toppings. This can be a fun cooking activity for children.


Makes

6 Servings

Ingredients

Japanese Short Grain Sushi Rice 3 cups *180ml cup
Carrot 1/2 *sliced, blanched in salted water
Cucumber 1/2 to 1 *thinly sliced, slightly salted
Dried Shiitake 40g *cooked Sweet Soy Broth (Suger 1 : Soy Sauce 2 : Mirin 1)
Edamame 1 cup *cooked, removed from pods
Snow Peas
Eggs 4
Oil 1 teaspoon

Sushi Vinegar Ingredients

Rice Vinegar 72ml
Sugar 60g *slightly less 1/4 cup
Salt 1 & 1/4 teaspoons

Method
  1. Cook Rice with slightly less amount of water to achieve firmer texture. When Rice is cooked, allow it to steam for 10 minutes.
  2. Make sushi vinegar by mixing Rice Vinegar, Sugar and Salt. Pour the sushi vinegar over the HOT rice, then empty it into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Mix it well gently and thoroughly, fanning the rice with a fan or piece of cardboard to help the rice cool quickly. Quick cooling gives a glossy texture to the rice.
  4. Cover the rice with a damp cloth to stop the rice drying out.
  5. Prepare other ingredients for mixing and topping.
  6. Place thinly sliced Cucumber into a bowl, add Salt and massage, then rest for a while. Squeeze the Cucumber to remove excess water.
  7. Soak the Dried Shiitake in cold water until soft, drain and slice thinly. (OR use already sliced Dried Shiitake.) Place in a sauce pan, add just enough water to cover, 1 tablespoon Sugar, 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce & 1 tablespoon Mirin, cook for 20 minutes or the broth is thickened. Set aside to cool and squeeze slightly to remove excess liquid.
  8. Heat small amount of Oil in a frying pan and cook Eggs to make firm scrambled egg. Transfer to a plate.
  9. Carrot and Snow Peas need to be blanched in salted water. Do not over cook.
  10. Mix Sushi Rice, Cucumber, Edamame and Shiitake to combine.
  11. Finally decorate with toppings.