Oshizushi (押し寿司, Kansai pressed sushi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Oshibako (wooden sushi press), or a small loaf pan with a flat board
• •Rice paddle
• •Wide wooden hangiri or large shallow bowl
• •Sharp slicing knife
• •Clean kitchen cloth

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the fish

   Start with mackerel that is glistening fresh, firm, and clean-smelling, with bright skin and no sour odor. Ask when it came in and whether it is suitable for curing. The vinegar cure is seasoning, not camouflage, and a tired fish will announce itself no matter how neatly you press it.

   For raw or lightly cured fish, buy from a fishmonger you trust and keep it cold from shop to cutting board. If the fish gives you doubt, cook another dish.
2. 2

   Cure the mackerel

   Lay the mackerel fillets flesh-side up and cover the flesh evenly with the curing salt. Rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, then rinse quickly under cold water and pat very dry. The salt firms the flesh and draws out excess moisture, which helps the fish slice cleanly and keeps the sushi from weeping.

3. 3

   Vinegar the fish

   Stir the curing vinegar with the sugar until dissolved, add the konbu, and lay in the salted mackerel. Cure for 20 to 30 minutes, turning once. The fish should look slightly opaque at the surface but still tender inside. Pat it dry, then peel away the thin outer skin from the head end toward the tail if it lifts easily.

   Do not leave the mackerel in vinegar for hours. It will turn chalky and hard, and the cure should brighten the fish, not erase it.
4. 4

   Wash the rice

   Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water, rubbing the grains gently with your fingertips until the water runs almost clear. Drain for 20 minutes. Washing removes loose starch, so the finished rice is glossy and separate instead of pasty. Wash it twice, wash it thrice, and the rice repays you.

5. 5

   Cook the rice

   Put the drained rice, water, and konbu in a rice cooker or heavy pot. Cook as you normally cook Japanese rice, then discard the konbu as soon as the rice is done. Rest the rice, covered, for 10 minutes. The konbu gives a quiet depth, and the rest lets moisture settle evenly through the grains.

6. 6

   Season the rice

   Warm the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt just enough to dissolve them, then pour over the hot rice in a wide bowl. Cut through the rice with a paddle instead of stirring in circles. You want to coat the grains without crushing them. Fan as you fold until the rice is glossy and only warm to the touch.

   Season hot rice, then cool it before pressing. Hot rice takes in the vinegar; cool rice holds the shape.
7. 7

   Prepare the box

   Moisten the inside of an oshibako, the wooden pressing box, and line it with plastic wrap if you want easier lifting. No oshibako? Use a small loaf pan or rectangular container, with a flat board or another pan that fits inside. The tool matters less than even pressure and straight sides.

8. 8

   Layer and press

   Lay the mackerel skin-side down in the box, trimming pieces to cover the base neatly. Add a thin sheet of nori if using, then spread the vinegared rice over it in an even layer about 3/4 inch thick. Cover with the box lid and press firmly with both hands, then weight it for 20 to 30 minutes. Pressure makes one block of the layers, but too much force compacts the rice into a brick. We are persuading it, not punishing it.

9. 9

   Slice cleanly

   Lift out the block and turn it fish-side up. Use a sharp knife dipped in water and wiped clean between cuts, slicing straight down into rectangles. A wet, clean blade passes through the rice instead of dragging it, so each piece keeps its edges and the mackerel shows a smooth face. Let the knife do the last bit of seasoning.

10. 10

    Serve restrained

    Arrange the pieces in an odd-number grouping on a small plate, with pickled ginger, a little wasabi, and soy sauce alongside if you like. Serve at room temperature, not cold from the refrigerator. Rice tightens when chilled, and oshizushi should feel firm but alive.

Chef Tips

• •The best season for saba, mackerel, is autumn into winter, when the fish is fattier and fuller. If the season or the fish counter is poor, choose another topping: cooked shrimp, sea bream cured lightly with konbu, or simmered shiitake all belong to the pressed-sushi family.
• •An oshibako is the proper wooden press, and it gives the cleanest shape. A small loaf pan with plastic wrap and a flat board is a sensible stand-in, provided the pressure is even from corner to corner.
• •Keep a bowl of water and a cloth beside the knife. Dip, cut, wipe, repeat. Rice starch builds quickly on the blade, and that little housekeeping is the difference between neat Kansai sushi and a ragged block of good intentions.
• •Do not overfill the box. A thinner layer presses more gracefully, slices better, and eats with balance. Leave the appetite wanting one more piece, which is not a bad old rule.

Advance Preparation

• •The mackerel can be salted and vinegar-cured up to 6 hours ahead, then wrapped and kept refrigerated until pressing.
• •The sushi rice is best seasoned the day you serve it. Keep it covered with a damp cloth at room temperature while you work, never chilled.
• •Pressed sushi can be assembled 2 to 4 hours ahead and held at cool room temperature. If your kitchen is warm, refrigerate briefly, then let it return toward room temperature before slicing and serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)