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Valentine Sushi Recipe

If you lack confidence to prepare Sushi yourself, try an easier deconstructed version, presented here as a Valentine starter. It is bound to get your special meal off to a good start.

Difficulty

Prep Time

65 minutes

Cooking Time

20 minutes

Serves

2

Recipe Ingredients

  • 125 ml  Sushi rice (uncooked measure)
  • 15 ml  sugar
  • 30 ml  rice vinegar
  • ½   Nori/seaweed sheet
  •   SPAR wasabi paste
  • 2   SPAR Norwegian smoked salmon slices, thawed
  • Optional: bottled pickled ginger

Recipe Method

  1. Soak, drain and rinse, then boil the rice in a small pot according to the on-pack instructions.
  2. Heat the sugar and rice vinegar together and set aside.
  3. Cover the cooked rice with a dish towel and pot lid and set aside for 20 minutes.
  4. Turn the rice into a shallow bowl and gradually add in the cooled vinegar mix, using a spatula with a slicing action to cut it into the rice and assist cooling and separate the grains.
  5. Place a heart-shaped cookie cutter on a side-plate and spoon the rice into this, pressing it in firmly to take the cutter shape.  Lift away the cutter from the rice and repeat this process for as many hearts as you require.
  6. Cut the nori into several  +- 2 cm width x 6-8 cm long strips. Place a doubled-over length of salmon over each of these strips, and firmly roll each of them up from one short side to the other, like a Swiss-roll.
  7. Arrange two or more rolls alongside each heart, with a squeeze of Wasabi paste and slivers of pickled ginger.
  8. Cover with plastic film, and chill until ready to serve. 

Hints & Tips

  • Do not refrigerate the rice before moulding it, or it will be too sticky and difficult to handle. Use the rice immediately after mixing in the vinegar to the cooling rice.
  • Being an unconstructed version of Sushi, chopsticks are not easy to use. Rather choose dainty cocktail forks or teaspoons.
  • If you really want to prepare this recipe, but don’t have immediate access to all the Japanese culinary ingredients, improvise with over-cooked plain white rice (Sushi rice) white wine vinegar (rice vinegar), horseradish sauce (Wasabi), blanched spinach leaves (nori).
  • Use up the remaining salmon soon and do not re-freeze.
  • For other times of the year, use alternative but appropriate cookie cutter shapes eg star, bell