Sushi lover? Want to make your own sushi but don’t have enough time or patience to make proper sushi rolls? Want to make something that’s super easy but still looks fancy? Make a sushi bowl! These little bowls of deliciousness can be made with almost no effort at all. And look and taste amazing. Feel free to use any combination of ingredients that you like!

Serves 3 (or two massive bowls)
Prep + Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

For the rice:

• 250 g sushi rice
• rice seasoning:
  • 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
• Alternatively, for a low calorie version, you may substitute the rice with iceberg lettuce shredded up and seasoned with mirin and sesame oil. (per person approximately 1/3 of an iceberg lettuce, 1 tablespoon of mirin and a drop or two of sesame oil)

Toppings:

• 600-700 g of any combination of fish (I usually use whatever I can find fresh from my local fishmonger, see notes below on what to use)
• A large handful of any crunchy fruit/vegetable (cut into thin strips). eg: cucumber, carrots, or mangetout, cooked edamame beans etc)
• 200 g seasoned wakame salad (thawed)
• 2 avocados (diced)
• Sesame seeds
• Soy sauce
• Optional: shredded pieces of sushi nori, pickled sushi ginger, caviar, wasabi

For the sauce (can easily be doubled if you want more sauce)

• 10-12 drops sesame seed oil
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons mirren
• 1-2 teaspoons sriracha

Method:

1. Wash your rice in a large bowl with cold water, stirring in a circle with your hand. Drain the water and repeat until the water becomes clear. Allow to soak for at least 15-30 minutes.
2. Drain well, then add to a saucepan together with another 330 ml of water.
3. Bring to a boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on.
4. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, and allow to stand for a further 10 minutes, without removing the lid.
5. While you’re waiting for the rice to cook and rest, prepare the rice seasoning. Simply combine the rice wine vinegar, salt and white sugar in a small bowl.
6. When the rice is ready, wet the surface of a large (ideally wooden) bowl with a splash of water.
7. Using a wooden spatula (or soft silicon one if you don’t have) gently transfer the rice into the bowl with wet sides.
8. Pour the seasoning mixture over the rice.
9. Combine the rice with the seasoning by gently folding it over itself, taking care to avoid breaking the grains.
10. Cover your rice with a damp cloth. Allow to cool to room temperature.
11. Chop up or slice all of your fish/vegetables. If you intend to cook some of your toppings (such as teriyaki seared salmon or tempura prawn), now is the time. NB: if using avocado, make sure you squeeze over some lemon juice to prevent it from turning black!
12. Prepare your sauce by combining the sesame seed oil, mayo, sriracha, mirren and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl.
13. Split the rice into two portions and add to individual bowls.
14. Season the rice with a swig of soy sauce.
15. Add your toppings, drizzle over the sauce and finish with some sesame seeds +/- nori strips, caviar and pickled ginger.
16. Serve with some extra soy sauce +/- wasabi for dipping. Enjoy.

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Notes:

Q: Where can I buy fish that can be eaten raw?
A: Go to a reputable fishmonger whom you trust and ask them for fish that can be used for sushi. If I understood it correctly, there actually isn’t any set of firm standards that makes a fish “sushi grade”. It’s simply the best quality, freshest fish possible. Trust your fishmonger. Trust your senses. It should be nice and firm, and smell like the sea. Just make sure that parasitic fish (such as salmon) has been fresh frozen (freezing destroys the parasites).

Q: What types of fish do you like to use?
A: I love a combination of tuna and salmon. But you could use any other white fish if you prefer. Oh and I always use some shredded surimi (aka “crab sticks”).

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Q: Where can I find wakame salad?
A: This wonderfully seasoned seaweed can be bought frozen from any asian store. Just defrost it by running cold water over the sealed bag. Some larger supermarkets might have it available in the fridge/asian stations, but it tends to be a bit pricey in my opinion.

Q: I prefer to cook my fish, any suggestions?
A: Cut your salmon or tuna into approx 3 cm chunks. In a large wok/non stick pan add a few drops of sesame oil and a teaspoon of normal oil. Cook the fish over a high heat for about a minute on each side. Add a splash of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and a tablespoon of teriyaki sauce. Cook for a further minute or two until the sauce starts to caramelize. Remove from heat. Sprinkle over some sesame seeds and serve. Note: this still will be quite “rare”. If you want to cook it all the way…. then that’s up to you. Another option is tempura prawn.

Q: I can’t get access to fresh fish, what can I use?
A: Tofu. Tempura prawn. Surimi. Salmon roe (if you’re rich). Just more vegetables. Hell you could even use diced mango. Basically – Anything you like. Yeah even an asian seasoned chicken/beef/pork. Not my thing but… hey I won’t be eating it 😛

Q: Is it really that important to use wooden utensils for the rice?
A: Well, it certainly makes a huge difference. But if you don’t have, just try and be as gentle as you can to avoid breaking up your rice grains into mush. We want beautiful singular, well seasoned grains. Not a lumpy, sticky rice “mash”.

Q: Do I have to soak and wash the rice first?
A: Yes. Please. It’s worth it. And a 15 min soak isn’t exactly that long or laborious!

Q: I love that sauce, can I make double and add more per portion?
A: Yes. That’s what I end up doing.

Q: I’m on a diet, and would like to cut down on the calories, if it possible?
A: Swap out the rice for shredded iceberg lettuce. Season the lettuce as explained above. It not the same but still delicious. Quite similar to salads served in asian restaurants. Swab out the regular mayonnaise for a “lighter than light” version or fat free greek yogurt.

Q: Can I use this recipe, but then make sushi rolls instead?
A: Yes of course! Just cut the ingredients into sushi roll-friendly shapes, then wrap them up as usual. The sauce can be added over the fillings before wrapping them up 😉