NIGIRI ZUSHI

Serves 4

30 mins preparation time + time to prepare the sushi rice

Toppings:

- 4 large raw prawns (shrimp)

- 1 piece sashimi-grade tuna fillet, about 5 cm x 4 cm (2 in x 1 1/2 in)

- 1 fillet sashimi-grade gilthead bream

- 4 fillets sashimi-grade japanese horse mackerel

- 4 tablespoons salmon roe

- Vinegared sushi rice, made with 300 g (10 1/2 oz) rice

- Wasabi

- 1 sheet of nori seaweed

- Soy sauce

Prepare the toppings. Remove the heads of the prawns. Insert skewers along their backs and cook them in boiling water for 4 minutes, then remove the skewers. Peel the prawns and carefully split open their belly without cutting them in half. Cut the tuna into slices 1 cm (1/2 in) thick, 2.5 cm (1 in) wide and about 5 cm (2 in) long. Slice the bream in the same way. Remove the skin of the horse mackerel. 

Use your hand to shape the rice into small oval balls (20 in total). Place a prawn or a slice of fish in the hollow of your hand. Dab a little wasabi in the middle of the slice, then place the ball of rice on top. Turn the ball of rice and fish over, so the fish is now on top. Press lightly in the middle with your index and middle fingers. With the sushi still sitting in the hollow of your hand, use your thumb and middle finger to squeeze the edges firmly, then press your index finger on top of the sushi to flatten it slightly. To make sushi with the salmon roe, cut the sheet of nori into strips about 20 cm x 3 cm (8 in x 1 1/4 in). Wrap a strip of nori around a ball of rice, securing the ends with a cooked grain of rice so it sticks properly. Place the salmon roe on top of the rice ball—the rim of the nori should hold it in place. Serve with soy sauce. 

Enjoy your cooking with your loved one

Sumber buku: Maori murota, Tokyo cult recipes, May 2016