A special occasion dish in Japan, chirashuzushi (scattered sushi) is a platter of sushi rice topped with an array of protein (meat or seafood) and vegetables.
My version, inspired by a dish cooked in an episode of Izakaya Bottakuri, has salmom teriyaki, eggs, nori, sakura denbu and tobiko. The salmon can be substituted with other seafood which can be cooked or raw. Other vegetables, such as carrot, edamame and lotus root, may also be added.
Sakura denbu (above, left) is a dried codfish condiment. It is pink due to the addition of food color to mimic cherry blossoms. Kizami nori (above, center) is pre-shredded nori. Tobiko or fish roe (above, right) comes in many sizes and colors. Black tobiko (tinted with squid ink) was used in this chirashizushi. All three are available in Japanese groceries.
Chirashizushi (Scattered Sushi)
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups Japanese rice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon dashi granules
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 300 to 400 grams salmon fillet
- ¼ cup Japanese soy sauce
- ¼ cup sake
- ¼ cup mirin
- 1 tablespoon sakura denbu
- 2 tablespoons kizami nori
- 1 tablespoons tobiko (fish roe)
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
Instructions
Make sushi rice
- Rinse the Japanese rice until the water runs clear.
- Cook as you normally cook your rice (stovetop, rice cooker or microwave).
- Spread the newly cooked rice on a tray, drizzle in the rice vinegar and stir.
- Allow the rice to cool, stirring the grains every few minutes.
Cook the omelette
- In a bowl, beat the eggs with the dashi granules.
- Coat the bottom of a frying pan with the tablespoon of oil and heat.
- Pour the beaten eggs into the hot oil, tilting the pan around to allow the eggs to spread.
- Cook the eggs until set then roll into a log using a spatula.
- Transfer the rolled omelette to a cutting board and slice thinly.
Cook the salmon
- Reheat the same pan where you cooked the egg (it already has enough oil).
- Lay the salmon fillet and brown lightly.
- Pour in the soy sauce, sake and mirin.
- Cook the salmon over medium heat, uncovered, for five minutes then flip and cook for another three minutes.
- Allow the salmon to soak in the sauce as it cools (if your salmon fillet has skin, cool it in the sauce with the skin side up) while you start assembling the chirashizushi.
Assemble your chirashizushi (scattered sushi)
- Spread the sushi rice on a platter (optionally, drizzle in some of the teriyaki sauce from the pan).
- Scatter the egg strips over the rice.
- Break the salmon in chunks and arrange on top of the egg strips (again, optionally, you may drizzle in a little more teriyaki sauce).
- Scatter the sakura denbu and kizami nori over everything on the platter.
- Arrange the tobiko at the center of the platter.
- Sprinkle the sliced scallions over everything.
- Provide everyone with rice bowls into which they will ladle their portion of the chirashizushi.
