In our latest Chef Masterclass series we find out how to create deliciously fresh Chirashi Sushi at home with Saké Brand Chef Shimpei Hatanaka.
Chirashi means ‘scattered’ and refers to the range of toppings that are scattered on top of delicious, fragrant, warm sushi rice. At Saké Double Bay, we artistically arrange hand-picked seafood toppings which are each crowned with lovely garnishes that make each mouthful burst with flavour. You don’t have to restrict your toppings to seafood, and you can play around with garnishes and flavours, creating your very personalised Chirashi Sushi bowl. The fun is in the creation, and the flavour is in the eating. Happy Chirashi Sushi!
Ingredients (makes one bowl)
200g sushi rice
20g sashimi grade tuna
20g sashimi grade salmon
20g sashimi grade kingfish
20g sashimi grade scallop
20g salmon roe
20g boiled prawn meat
20g avocado, sliced
5g wasabi
25ml dashi soy sauce (see recipe below, if making your own)
20g pickled ginger
Various garnishes
Method
Place warm sushi rice (approximately 40°C) in a serving bowl. Place each piece of seafood and avocado artistically over the rice, or scatter in a more ad-hoc fashion. Garnish each item with a garnish of choice. Drizzle a small amount of dashi soy over each fish and a dab of wasabi to your liking. Serve with pickled ginger.
Sushi Vinegar Ingredients
180ml rice vinegar (we use Shiragiku vinegar)
60g white sugar (we use Joo Hakuto Japanese sugar)
35g salt (we use Hakata No Shio Japanese salt)
10g dried konbu (we use Hidaka konbu)
Method In a mixing bowl, mix vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved. Once dissolved, add konbu and sit in fridge for 2 days to infuse. Note: If you don’t have time to make it, sushi vinegar can be purchased from Asian grocery stores. Ensure to buy sushi vinegar, not rice vinegar as they are two very different products.
Dashi Soy Sauce Ingredients
200 ml Kikkoman gluten free soy sauce
80ml mirin
10g bonito flakes
10g dried konbu
20ml water
Method Combine all ingredient in a bowl and sit overnight in fridge. Strain using a filter paper or cloth ensuring no sediments. Note: If you have no time to make your own dashi soy sauce, it can be bought at Asian grocery stores, or replaced with regular soy. We highly recommend making or buying a dashi soy as it plays a unique role in the flavour of the dish.
Sushi Rice Method Wash sushi rice until water becomes clear. Leave washed rice in a strainer to sit for 1 hour to let the rice absorb water to the center of the grain. Cook rice as per instructions on the package. At Saké, we use a rice cooker; water and rice ratio 1:1. Once rice is cooked, let it sit covered for 15 minutes to steam cook a little longer, ensuring the rice is cooked through. Place cooked rice in a mixing bowl and mix through with sushi vinegar ensuring each grain is coated. As a guide, mix one cup of rice with 40ml sushi vinegar. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. Let rice cool down to approximately 40-45°C before using.
Tips on selecting seafood and other toppings
Head to your fish market and check the sashimi grade fish section. If unsure, ask the friendly staff for assistance. Usually, there is a sashimi section with tuna, salmon, kingfish etc already in small blocks of 20g-50g ready to eat. The shop assistant may slice this up for you, or you can do this at home. It is important that each topping is sliced thin, and bite sized.
Seafood toppings that would be easy to access and prepare include tuna, salmon, kingfish, boiled prawn, salmon roe, flying fish roe, scallop, scampi, sea urchin, eel. Other non-seafood topping include avocado, cucumber, tamago yaki (egg omelet), edamame beans, canned tuna, boiled chicken, sautéed shiitake mushroom, mixed lettuce leaves and pickled vegetables.
Tips on garnishes
Depending on the topping, you can enhance the flavour and depth of your Chirashi Sushi by adding extra garnishes. This may be simple things such as chopped chives, roasted sesame seeds, shichimi chilli powder, baby shiso herb, caviar, finger lime, furikake, frozen yuzu peel, yuzu kosho (yuzu pepper paste), sesame oil, and nori seaweed. Most of these products can be sourced from a Japanese or Asian grocery stores. Play around with the garnishes make your Chirashi Sushi interesting and burst with flavours at each bite.
Tips on construction of Chirashi Sushi
While the rice is cooking, have all topping sliced and prepared as well as any garnish you are planning to use. It is important all toppings are ready prior, so you can serve your Chirashi Sushi with warm rice, which adds to the flavoursome experience. The ideal temperature for sushi rice is 40-45°C – any warmer and it will start to cook the seafood toppings.
At Saké Double Bay the team is currently serving up an ultimate sushi experience, a Chirashi Sushi bowl made from the freshest ingredients and accompanied with with fresh Tasmanian wasabi and pickled ginger, house-made miso soup, a portion of Chawanmushi and Seafood Tempura for $69. We recently enjoyed this experience and thoroughly can’t speak more highly of the freshness, the flavours and the attentive service of the team. We recommend visiting when you are next in Sydney!
In our latest Chef Masterclass series we find out how to create deliciously fresh Chirashi Sushi at home with Saké Brand Chef Shimpei Hatanaka.
Chirashi means ‘scattered’ and refers to the range of toppings that are scattered on top of delicious, fragrant, warm sushi rice. At Saké Double Bay, we artistically arrange hand-picked seafood toppings which are each crowned with lovely garnishes that make each mouthful burst with flavour. You don’t have to restrict your toppings to seafood, and you can play around with garnishes and flavours, creating your very personalised Chirashi Sushi bowl. The fun is in the creation, and the flavour is in the eating. Happy Chirashi Sushi!
Ingredients (makes one bowl)
Method
Place warm sushi rice (approximately 40°C) in a serving bowl.
Place each piece of seafood and avocado artistically over the rice, or scatter in a more ad-hoc fashion. Garnish each item with a garnish of choice.
Drizzle a small amount of dashi soy over each fish and a dab of wasabi to your liking. Serve with pickled ginger.
Sushi Vinegar
Ingredients
Method
In a mixing bowl, mix vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved. Once dissolved, add konbu and sit in fridge for 2 days to infuse. Note: If you don’t have time to make it, sushi vinegar can be purchased from Asian grocery stores. Ensure to buy sushi vinegar, not rice vinegar as they are two very different products.
Dashi Soy Sauce
Ingredients
Method
Combine all ingredient in a bowl and sit overnight in fridge. Strain using a filter paper or cloth ensuring no sediments. Note: If you have no time to make your own dashi soy sauce, it can be bought at Asian grocery stores, or replaced with regular soy. We highly recommend making or buying a dashi soy as it plays a unique role in the flavour of the dish.
Sushi Rice
Method
Wash sushi rice until water becomes clear. Leave washed rice in a strainer to sit for 1 hour to let the rice absorb water to the center of the grain. Cook rice as per instructions on the package. At Saké, we use a rice cooker; water and rice ratio 1:1. Once rice is cooked, let it sit covered for 15 minutes to steam cook a little longer, ensuring the rice is cooked through. Place cooked rice in a mixing bowl and mix through with sushi vinegar ensuring each grain is coated. As a guide, mix one cup of rice with 40ml sushi vinegar. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. Let rice cool down to approximately 40-45°C before using.
Tips on selecting seafood and other toppings
Head to your fish market and check the sashimi grade fish section. If unsure, ask the friendly staff for assistance. Usually, there is a sashimi section with tuna, salmon, kingfish etc already in small blocks of 20g-50g ready to eat. The shop assistant may slice this up for you, or you can do this at home. It is important that each topping is sliced thin, and bite sized.
Seafood toppings that would be easy to access and prepare include tuna, salmon, kingfish, boiled prawn, salmon roe, flying fish roe, scallop, scampi, sea urchin, eel. Other non-seafood topping include avocado, cucumber, tamago yaki (egg omelet), edamame beans, canned tuna, boiled chicken, sautéed shiitake mushroom, mixed lettuce leaves and pickled vegetables.
Tips on garnishes
Depending on the topping, you can enhance the flavour and depth of your Chirashi Sushi by adding extra garnishes. This may be simple things such as chopped chives, roasted sesame seeds, shichimi chilli powder, baby shiso herb, caviar, finger lime, furikake, frozen yuzu peel, yuzu kosho (yuzu pepper paste), sesame oil, and nori seaweed. Most of these products can be sourced from a Japanese or Asian grocery stores. Play around with the garnishes make your Chirashi Sushi interesting and burst with flavours at each bite.
Tips on construction of Chirashi Sushi
While the rice is cooking, have all topping sliced and prepared as well as any garnish you are planning to use. It is important all toppings are ready prior, so you can serve your Chirashi Sushi with warm rice, which adds to the flavoursome experience. The ideal temperature for sushi rice is 40-45°C – any warmer and it will start to cook the seafood toppings.
At Saké Double Bay the team is currently serving up an ultimate sushi experience, a Chirashi Sushi bowl made from the freshest ingredients and accompanied with with fresh Tasmanian wasabi and pickled ginger, house-made miso soup, a portion of Chawanmushi and Seafood Tempura for $69. We recently enjoyed this experience and thoroughly can’t speak more highly of the freshness, the flavours and the attentive service of the team. We recommend visiting when you are next in Sydney!
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