Ehōmaki (恵方巻, Setsubun lucky roll)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Bamboo rolling mat (makisu)
• •Rice paddle or broad spatula
• •Wide shallow bowl for seasoning rice, ideally hangiri, or a large nonmetal bowl
• •Small saucepan for simmered fillings
• •Sharp knife for preparation only

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the rice

   Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Sprinkle it over the hot rice and fold with a rice paddle, cutting through the grains rather than mashing them. Fan the rice as you fold until it looks glossy and no longer throws off heat. Hot rice absorbs the seasoning cleanly, but warm, settled rice rolls better and won't make the nori sag.

   Keep the rice covered with a damp cloth while you prepare the roll. Dry rice will not cling neatly, and wet rice will make the nori tough.
2. 2

   Simmer the shiitake

   Soak the dried shiitake in the cup of water until soft, at least 30 minutes. Trim the stems, slice the caps thinly, and simmer them with 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, and the mirin until the liquid is almost gone. The mushroom should taste sweet-salty and deep, because it is one of the dark notes inside the roll.

3. 3

   Cook the kanpyō

   Rub the soaked kanpyō with the teaspoon of salt, rinse it well, and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, and enough water to barely cover, then cook until the strips are seasoned through and flexible. The salt rub softens the gourd strip and removes its dry smell. Skip it and the filling stays stubborn.

   Kanpyō should bend without snapping. It is a supporting beam in futomaki, not a garnish.
4. 4

   Make the omelet

   Beat the eggs with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sugar, stirring gently so you don't beat in much air. Oil a small pan and cook the egg in a thin, even layer, folding it into a firm omelet. Cool it, then cut it into long square strips. A tidy strip gives the roll height and sweetness without making the center loose.

5. 5

   Prepare the greens

   Seed the cucumber and cut it into long batons. Blanch the mitsuba or spinach briefly, chill it, and squeeze it dry. Water is the enemy inside a sushi roll. If the greens are wet, they season the rice by accident, and no good comes from that.

6. 6

   Set the mat

   Lay a bamboo rolling mat, or makisu, in front of you with the slats running horizontally. Put one sheet of nori on it, shiny side down, with the long edge facing you. Keep a small bowl of water nearby for your fingers. Wet fingers spread rice neatly; wet hands make paste. There is a difference, and the rice knows it.

7. 7

   Spread the rice

   Spread about three-quarters cup of sushi rice over the nori in a thin, even layer, leaving a 1-inch bare strip along the far edge. Do not press hard. You want the grains to touch and hold, not become mortar. That bare strip is the seal that closes the roll.

8. 8

   Line the fillings

   Across the center of the rice, lay one row each of omelet, shiitake, kanpyō, cucumber, anago or unagi, sakura denbu, and mitsuba or spinach. Keep the rows close together and even from end to end. A roll fails from wandering fillings more often than from bad hands.

9. 9

   Roll firmly

   Lift the near edge of the mat with your thumbs and hold the fillings in place with your fingers. Roll the nori over the fillings in one confident movement, aiming the near edge just beyond the filling line. Pause, press gently along the mat to square the roll, then roll forward to seal the bare nori edge. Firm is good. Crushing is not.

10. 10

    Rest and serve

    Set the roll seam-side down for 5 minutes so the nori can settle and the seal can hold. For Setsubun, serve each ehōmaki whole and uncut, with the seam down and the best face up. Face the year's lucky direction and eat in silence if you are keeping the custom. If you cut it for children or smaller appetites, use a damp, sharp knife and admit plainly that you've stepped away from the holiday form.

Chef Tips

• •Use proper Japanese short-grain rice. Long-grain rice won't cling in the same way, and adding more water only makes it heavy. The grain is the structure of the roll.
• •Toast the nori briefly over a low flame if it feels limp, just until it turns fragrant and crisp. Good nori should smell clean and marine, not stale or dusty.
• •Seven fillings are the point, but they do not all need to be large. Think in lines, not handfuls. A thin row of each gives luck its place without breaking the roll.
• •A bamboo rolling mat, makisu, gives the cleanest shape. A sheet of parchment can help in a pinch, but it will not square the roll as neatly.
• •For a meatless table, omit the eel and use seasoned kōyadōfu or extra simmered shiitake. That is still honmono when the seasoning is honest and the roll keeps the Setsubun form.

Advance Preparation

• •The shiitake and kanpyō can be simmered one day ahead and refrigerated in their cooking liquid. Drain them well before rolling.
• •The omelet can be made several hours ahead, cooled, and kept covered in the refrigerator.
• •Cook and season the rice the day you roll. Refrigerated sushi rice turns firm and dull, and no amount of wishing repairs it.
• •Ehōmaki is best rolled within an hour of serving. If it must wait, wrap each whole roll loosely in parchment, not plastic pressed tight against the nori.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 290g)