Bite-sized sushi with vibrant toppings
ANN/THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN – Temarizushi, bite-sized, ball-shaped pieces of sushi is an ideal dish for gatherings with friends or families as it is easy to pick up. Cooking expert Noriko Shirai has shared recipes for this type of sushi. For festive occasions, an assortment of sashimi and various toppings over sushi vinegared rice is a classic choice.
However, Shirai suggests colourful temarizushi as an alternative, sushi rice rolled into a ball combined with various coloruful ingredients.
“Adding colour to sushi rice by mixing it with various ingredients and topping it with colorful food enhances its appearance,” Shirai said.
The suggested combinations, such as sushi rice mixed with scrambled eggs and topped with green vegetables, or black sesame mixed into the sushi rice and topped with pale shime-saba vinegared mackerel, are particularly visually appealing.
In recent years, temarizushi has evolved, with enthusiasts enjoying new combinations with ingredients from Western cooking such as cheese and roast beef.
The sushi rice can even be coloured pink by mixing it with minced fish sausages.
In this recipe, we will make temarizushi in three different colours, creating two types for each colour, with three pieces per type. Let’s start with the yellow one, which is sushi rice with a touch of curry flavour. The sushi is also pleasing to the eye, thanks to the red colour of shrimp and the green of the cucumber.
The next temarizushi is black, and is characterised by the subtle flavour of black sesame with a combination of shime-saba and pickled renkon lotus root, creating an attractive contrast between black and white. Some people might not like kaiwarena radish sprouts, but simply sandwiching them between kombu and salt can make them tasty.
The last one is the red temarizushi. Benishoga red pickled ginger adds a refreshing acidity and spiciness while enhancing the texture. Together with red sliced tuna, it creates a gorgeous presentation. After wrapping the sushi in plastic wrap, let them rest for at least 20 minutes to allow the flavours to meld.
“It’s fun to think of what ingredients to combine with colourful sushi rice. Try using any vibrant coloured vegetables that may be sitting in your fridge,” Shirai said.
Yellow temarizushi
Ingredients (Six pieces)
- 230g sushi rice
- Scrambled eggs, as needed
- Half teaspoon mayonnaise
- Half teaspoon curry powder
- Cucumber, as needed
- 20g canned tuna
- Three small, boiled shrimp
- One cup (200ml) water
- Half teaspoon salt
Directions
Drain canned tuna and mix with mayonnaise. Slice the cucumber thinly or create ribbon slices using a peeler. Soak for 10 minutes in saline water made from one cup of water to which half teaspoon of salt has been dissolved. Mix sushi rice with scrambled eggs and curry powder. Divide into six portions and form them into ping-pong ball-sized spheres, each weighing about 30 to 40 grammes.
Spread out a piece of cling wrap, place the cucumber slices, after removing moisture, and the rice ball on it. On another piece of cling wrap, place the boiled shrimp, which is sliced in half, and sushi rice. Wrap tightly with the cling film. Remove from the wrap. Top the cucumber sushi with the tuna and mayonnaise mixture. Garnish the shrimp sushi with chervil to taste, if desired.
Black temarizushi
Ingredients (Six pieces)
- 230g sushi rice
- One tablespoon ground black sesame
- Two teaspoons black sesame paste, if available
- 50g renkon lotus root
- Three slices of shime-saba vinegared mackerel
- Half pack kaiwarena daikon sprouts
- Kombu, as needed
- Three tablespoons water
- Three-and-a-half tablespoon vinegar
- Two tablespoons sugar
- A pinch of salt
Directions
Peel renkon and slice it into five-millimetre thick discs. In a saucepan, boil one cup of water, add half tablespoon of vinegar, then add the renkon slices. Boil for one minute and then remove.
In a different saucepan, add water, three tablespoons of vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Add the renkon and cook for two minutes. Cooling it afterward makes vinegared renkon. Run kombu through water. Spread out cling wrap, sprinkle a little salt, then lay half of the kaiwarena sprouts and kombu on it. Sprinkle a little more salt, cover with the remaining sprouts, and wrap them with the cling wrap. Let it sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes to allow the sprouts to be infused with kombu flavour.
Mix sushi rice with ground black sesame and black sesame paste. Divide into six portions and form into balls. Place the vinegared renkon, after patting out excess moisture, and rice ball on top, then wrap tightly. Wrap shime-saba with kombu-infused kaiwarena sprouts and rice ball in the same manner.
Red temarizushi
Ingredients (Six pieces)
- 230g sushi rice
- 20g benishoga red pickled ginger
- 50g minced chicken
- Three slices tuna sashimi
- Half tablespoon soy sauce
- Half tablespoon sugar
Directions
In a microwave-safe bowl, mix minced chicken, soy sauce and sugar. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and microwave at 600 watts for one minute. Stir well to prepare the tori soboro mince chicken filling and set aside. Marinate tuna sashimi in a little soy sauce for about 10 minutes. Mix sushi rice with minced benishoga. Divide mixture into six portions and form into balls.
Lay out cling wrap and place about two teaspoons of tori soboro and rice balls on it, then wrap tightly. Similarly, place tuna, kombu-infused kaiwarena, as needed, and sushi rice, and wrap.
