Chirashizushi (ちらし寿司, scattered sushi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker or heavy pot with tight lid
• •Hangiri (wooden sushi tub), or a broad shallow nonmetal bowl
• •Rice paddle
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with cloth
• •Sharp sashimi knife, or the sharpest long knife you own

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse the rice

   Rinse the rice in several changes of cool water, rubbing it gently with your fingers until the water runs almost clear. Drain it for 20 minutes. This washes away loose starch so the grains cook separate and glossy, which matters more here than in an ordinary bowl of rice.

2. 2

   Cook the rice

   Put the drained rice in a rice cooker or heavy pot with 2 cups water and the 5g piece of konbu. Let it soak for 20 minutes, then cook. Remove the konbu before serving or folding. The kelp gives a quiet sea flavor to the rice, but leaving it in after cooking makes the texture slippery and too assertive.

3. 3

   Make sushi vinegar

   Warm the rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt just until the sugar dissolves. Do not boil it. Boiling drives off the clean edge of the vinegar, and that brightness is what keeps the rice from tasting merely sweet.

4. 4

   Steep the dashi

   Wipe the 6g piece of konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in 2 1/2 cups cold water and bring it slowly toward a simmer. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides. Add the katsuobushi, take the pot off the heat, and leave it for 3 minutes. Strain without squeezing.

   Konbu turns bitter if boiled, and squeezed bonito clouds the stock with strong oils. You are making a clear base for quiet simmering, not a loud broth.
5. 5

   Simmer vegetables

   Soak the dried shiitake in 1 cup warm water until soft, about 25 minutes. Strain and save the soaking liquid, trim the stems, and slice the caps thinly. In a small pot combine 1 cup dashi, 1/2 cup shiitake soaking liquid, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, and mirin. Add the shiitake, carrot, and lotus root and simmer gently for 12 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are seasoned but still distinct. Drain well and cool.

   Drain the simmered pieces before they meet the rice. Wet toppings make sushi rice dull and heavy, a small tragedy with a very simple cause.
6. 6

   Season the rice

   Turn the hot rice into a hangiri, the wide wooden sushi tub, or a broad shallow bowl. Sprinkle the sushi vinegar over it and fold with a rice paddle using a slicing motion, fanning as you work if you can. The cutting motion keeps the grains whole, and the fanning cools the surface fast so the rice shines instead of steaming itself soft.

7. 7

   Fold in filling

   When the rice is warm rather than hot, fold in the drained shiitake, carrot, lotus root, and toasted sesame. Taste once. It should be lightly sour, lightly sweet, and savory underneath, with each grain still present. Cover with a damp cloth so the rice stays supple while you finish the toppings.

8. 8

   Make kinshi tamago

   Beat the eggs with 1 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of salt, then strain if you want especially fine sheets. Oil a small pan lightly and cook the egg in two thin layers over low heat. Keep the heat gentle so the sheets stay yellow, not browned. Cool, roll loosely, and slice into fine threads called kinshi tamago, golden egg silk.

9. 9

   Blanch snow peas

   Blanch the snow peas in salted boiling water for 30 seconds, then chill them in cold water and drain well. Slice on the diagonal. The quick blanch fixes the green color and softens the raw edge while keeping the snap.

10. 10

    Cut the fish

    Use only fish sold for raw eating by a monger you trust. Keep it cold, use a sharp clean knife, and cut in one smooth pull so the face of each slice stays glistening and unbruised. If the fish smells strong or looks tired, cook something else for the top. Let the knife do the seasoning.

11. 11

    Scatter and serve

    Spread the rice in a shallow serving vessel, leaving the edges visible instead of filling it to the rim. Scatter the kinshi tamago first, then arrange the snow peas, shrimp, sashimi, and ikura in small odd-numbered groups with a little height. Serve with pickled ginger and wasabi on the side. The word is chirashi, scattered, but scattering still has manners.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger what arrived today that they would eat raw, and accept the answer even when it changes your plan. Sourcing first, always. No garnish rescues tired fish.
• •A hangiri, the shallow wooden sushi tub, absorbs extra moisture while you season the rice. A wide ceramic or glass bowl works if you spread the rice thinly and keep the folding gentle.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi from konbu and dried shiitake and skip the fish, shrimp, and ikura. Add simmered kanpyō, lotus root, carrot, snow peas, and kinshi tamago if eggs are welcome. Temple-style stock is honmono, not an apology.
• •Do not refrigerate sushi rice unless you must. Cold rice hardens and loses its gloss. If you need to hold it, keep it covered at cool room temperature for a few hours and top with raw fish only just before serving.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made one day ahead and kept refrigerated.
• •The shiitake, carrot, and lotus root can be simmered one day ahead, drained, and chilled. Bring them back to room temperature before folding into the rice.
• •The kinshi tamago can be made a few hours ahead and covered. Slice it close to serving so the strands stay loose.
• •Season the rice the day you serve it. Assemble raw fish, ikura, and snow peas at the last moment so their color and texture stay clear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 380g)