Tossed Sushi with Sesame Vegetables & Egg

Lately, I have been obsessed with Japanese cooking. I have plowed through many books from the library and stocked up on ingredients from my local Japanese market. There are two dishes I have been wanting to make for awhile. One, is the Japanese omelet or tamagoyaki. The other is tossed sushi or chirashi-zushi. The egg didn't work out the way I had planned so I'll spare you the gory details. But, the tossed sushi was delicious. First, I made the sushi rice. I like Nishiki brand sushi rice. I cook mine in my rice cooker on the sushi setting. But, you can cook it on the stove (see recipe at the bottom of this post). While the rice was cooking I made the veggies.

I blanched some spinach, carrot, and edamame in a pot of boiling water with a bit of soy sauce. After a few minutes, I took the veggies out of the hot water, rinsed them in cold water, and tossed them with toasted sesame seed oil, a bit of rice wine vinegar, and toasted sesame seeds.

I put some sushi rice in the bowl topped with some sliced egg, the sesame veggies, and a bit of avocado. I sprinkled some nori strips and toasted sesame seeds on top.

And, then, the secret weapon -- my homemade ponzu sauce. The ponzu sauce adds a nice saltiness and citrus flavor to the dish. It is easy to make and keeps forever in the refrigerator. Chirasi-zushi tastes like sushi but is a lot easier to make and a very flexible recipe. You can add any type of seasonal veggie or protein you like to this dish. And, making tossed sushi is a good way to practice making sushi rice without the pressure of also making the sushi rolls. It is also a good way to allow picky eaters in your family to build their own meal by putting whatever they like over the rice. You will not believe how easy it is to have a sushi bar experience in your home. Give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Sushi Rice

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt, plus 1 pinch

2 cups short-grain white rice (I like Nishiki)

2 cups of water

1 teaspoon sake, optional

1. Wash rice in several changes of water until water runs clear. Soak in cooking water for 30 minutes (This step is optional but does make the rice nice and sticky). Combine rice with sake, a pinch of salt, and 2 1/2 cups water (if you’re using a rice cooker) or 3 cups water (if you’re cooking it on stovetop). Cook until water is absorbed, about 38 minutes in a rice cooker, about 25 minutes in a covered pot over medium-low heat.

2. While the rice is cooking, cook the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar and salt dissolve in the vinegar. Take off burner and let cool.

3. Turn rice into a large bowl and let cool for 15 minutes.

4. Using a rubber spatula, a wooden paddle or spoon, gently fold sweetened vinegar into rice, a little at a time. Rice should be glistening and moist but not wet, and sweet but not overly so. Use immediately with sushi toppings of your choice.

Yield: Enough rice for 4 generous or 6 small portions of sushi.

Sesame Vegetables

Ingredients

1 bunch of spinach

2 cups of carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 1/2 cups of edamame

1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 drops of rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds

1. Heat a pot of water. When it starts to boil add soy sauce and spinach. Cook spinach until slightly wilted about 3-5 minutes. Take spinach out of the pot with tongs and put in a large bowl.

2. Add carrots and edamame to the pot of water. Bring heat up to a boil. Boil for 3-5 minutes. Take veggies out of pot, place in a strainer, and rinse under cold water.

3. Drain water from the bowl containing the spinach. Add edamame and carrots to the bowl. Sprinkle with toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and toasted sesame oil. Taste and adjust seasoning as you like.

Ponzu Sauce

from www.4peaks.com

1/4 cup of lemon juice

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

5 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon dried bonito flakes (hana-katsuo)

2-inch square dried giant kelp (konbu)

Mix ingredients and let stand for 24 hours. Refrigerate. Keep indefinitely.

Tossed Sushi Put a generous scoop of sushi rice in each of 4 bowls. Top rice with sesame veggies, sliced omelet, and avocado. Sprinkle ponzu sauce, nori strips, and toasted sesame seeds on top.

Fried Rice with Fava Beans and Carrots

A container of day old (or older) cooked rice is not a welcome sight in most refrigerators. However, this fried rice recipe may change your mind. The best rice for this would be Chinese style steamed rice -- homemade or take out. Sushi rice is also very good. Really, I think any precooked rice would work. The most time consuming part of this dish was prepping the fava beans. If you don't have fava beans or don't feel like prepping them you can substitute fresh or frozen peas. Just thaw them out before adding them to the rice.

How to prep the fava beans. So, here's the quick and dirty guide to prepping fava beans. First, you need to pop the beans out of the pod.

Then boil the beans in salted water for 3- 5 minutes. Let the beans cool. Then, pop them out of their skins with your fingers.

That wasn't so bad. Was it? This is a great job for tiny fingers so if you have child labor available use it! I do!

The rest of the preparation for this dish is very quick and very easy. Feel free to get creative about things you mix in at the end. Think of this dish as a way to use leftovers like cooked meat, cooked veggies, tofu, or any thing else you have lingering in your fridge. Just toss them into the pan after you have coated the rice with the eggs and let them quickly heat up in the pan.

To serve this, I like to put the fried rice in a bowl and sprinkle some toasted sesame oil and chilli garlic sauce on it. Scallions would also be a nice garnish. So, next time you make rice make a bit extra and make some fried rice.

Let me know if you discover other good combinations of meat or veggies for this dish. Have fun and enjoy!

Fried Rice with Fava Beans and Carrots

Inspired by a recipe from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic, chopped

2 cups of cold cooked rice

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 pound of fava beans, cooked and prepped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces

2 tablespoons sesame seed oil (or neutral oil like vegetable oil)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil, plus a dash extra for serving

chilli garlic sauce to taste

1. Prep the fava beans (see above). Boil the carrots in salted water for about 3 minutes -- until tender but not mushy. Strain the carrots and set aside.

2. Heat the sesame oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir fry until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the rice, breaking up any clumps. Stir fry the rice allowing it to heat up and grow fragrant.

3. Push the rice over to one side of the pan and pour the eggs into the empty space in the pan. Allow the eggs to cook for a few seconds undisturbed until the bottom starts to set. Then stir the rice into the eggs, folding the rice and eggs over so the rice is evenly covered with egg. Add the fava beans and carrots and stir into the rice/egg mixture. Add the soy sauce and toasted sesame seed oil.

4. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with toasted sesame oil and chilli garlic sauce to taste.