Chirashi: A Colourful and Flavorful Delight from Japan

With its rainbow of substances and harmonious stability of flavours, this chirashi sushi, or ‘chirashizushi’, is a scrumptious explosion of colors and tastes that delights all of the senses. This Japanese dish interprets to “scattered sushi” as a result of it’s made by tossing all of the sushi substances collectively in a bowl reasonably than rolling. The tip result’s a vibrant culinary creation with a wide range of contemporary toppings superbly organized on a mattress of seasoned sushi rice with every chunk showcasing the harmonious medley of tastes and textures within the bowl. It’s so easy to make and such a straightforward option to get pleasure from sushi with out the necessity for any rolling. It’s sometimes eaten in Japan when having fun with particular events and celebrations so it’s excellent for any gatherings and events!

What’s Chirashi?

Chirashi is a sort of sushi that consists of a bowl crammed with sushi rice and numerous toppings. The identify comes from the Japanese verb “chirasu” which suggests “to scatter” in English and refers back to the means the substances are scattered on prime of the rice.

Typical chirashizushi, which is eaten to have a good time particular events, is made by mixing the substances along with the rice and serving in a big wood tub referred to as a hangiri. Nevertheless, there’s one other sort of chirashi which began within the early 1900s in Edo (Tokyo) by which an assortment of contemporary sashimi (uncooked fish/uncooked seafood) is served artistically over a mattress of sushi rice in a lacquer field.

That is additionally referred to as Edomae chirashi sushi or kaisen (seafood) chirashi and differs from typical chirashizushi which is combined collectively and normally makes use of solely cooked seafood or none in any respect.  

There are different variations on chirashi sushi together with how it’s offered and the way it’s named relying on the areas. Different names embrace “bara zushi” (deconstructed or disassembled sushi), “maze sushi” (combined sushi), or if 5 completely different substances (gomoku) are used to combine into the sushi rice then it’s referred to as “gomoku chirashi” or “gomoku sushi”.

Not like nigiri sushi or maki sushi, chirashi bowls don’t require any talent, handwork, or rolling so it’s a handy possibility for having fun with sushi. It’s additionally a flexible and customisable dish since you’ll be able to select your favorite toppings primarily based on private preferences. Chirashi is a well-liked selection throughout celebrations like New 12 months’s Day and Hinamatsuri Women day in Japan.

Chirashi for Particular Events

Chirashi is a go-to dish for a lot of Japanese festivals and particular events. It’s sometimes served for Lady’s Competition (Hinamatsuri) on the third of March. However why is Chirashi usually eaten at Hinamatsuri? It’s mentioned that the Japanese used to eat Narezushi which is a preserved meals made by soaking fish in rice and fermenting it within the Heian interval. Folks ate the Narezushi round March because the fermenting course of finishes round that point. Over the time, the looks of the sushi turns into eye-catching and lovely from simply plain fermented fish and rice. Reference: Hinamatsuri (in Japanese language). This dish is ideal in your personal particular events too due to its stunning presentation and skill to feed many. You may put together a big bowl of chirashizushi for everybody to serve themselves from at your subsequent household gathering, picnic, or banquet!

Elements utilized in Chirashi

This pleasant dish presents a vibrant combine of colors, textures, and flavours that come collectively to create one tasty bowl of sushi. Listed below are some widespread substances utilized in chirashi:

Sushi rice 

Chirashi begins with the muse of completely cooked vinegared sushi rice. Brief-grain rice, particularly Japanese rice, is usually used for its stickiness and skill to carry collectively when mixed with different substances.  

Widespread toppings

• Seafood: Typical chirashizushi doesn’t all the time use fish/seafood and is most frequently vegetarian, but when seafood is used, it’s cooked. Some seafood topping choices embrace cooked shrimp, crab, octopus, squid, unagi (bbq eel), grilled salmon, or salmon roe. Nevertheless edomae chirashi sushi, one other sort of chirashi, options an assortment of sashimi grade fish like salmon, tuna, yellowtail (hamachi), or snapper (hirame). 
• Greens: So as to add colour and crunch, chirashi generally contains an array of greens akin to cucumber slices, avocado chunks, renkon lotus roots, shredded or julienned carrots, radish sprouts (kaiware daikon), shiitake mushrooms, kanpyo, edamame beans, or thinly sliced seaweed salad. 
• Tamagoyaki or Kinshi Tamago (Japanese Omelet): this provides sweetness and softness to the chirashi bowl. It’s made by whisking eggs with sugar and cooking them in skinny layers earlier than rolling them into omelet kind and slicing into skinny strips. 
• Pickled Elements: Varied pickled gadgets like pickled ginger slices (gari) or pickled daikon radish may be present in chirashi bowls too. They supply acidity and stability out the richness of the opposite parts.

Garnishes

• Sesame Seeds
• Myoga : Often known as myoga ginger or Japanese ginger. Its flower buds are edible and has a novel aroma and spiciness and used for garnishing condiment for a lot of Japanese dishes.
• Shiso (and different contemporary herbs):  is a sort of Japanese herb which has a cross between mint and cinnamon with a touch of clove flavour. You could discover this particular herb in your native market or Japanese grocery shops. You may as well simply develop this herb which I do.
• Tobiko or Masago: These small orange-colored fish roe varieties are sometimes sprinkled on prime of chirashi to reinforce each the style and visible attraction. Tobiko has a barely crunchy texture, whereas masago has a smoother mouthfeel.
• Shredded nori

Particular Elements Notice

Sakura denbu – is a pink cod flake. It is extremely finely flaked cod that’s colored pink. Extra info on sakura denbu is in my Sushi Cake put up.

Kanpyo – is dried strips of dried gourd fruit which is a sort of melon. You should purchase this dry or cooked and seasoned to be prepared to make use of immediately. Additionally talked about within the Futomaki Sushi rolls put up.

Tools required : Wood Tub (hangiri)

A hangiri is a wood tub that’s used for making sushi rice in Japan. It has a shallow and flat backside. It’s worthwhile to moist it earlier than use in order that the rice won’t keep on with the bathtub and so that it’ll not take in the vinegar for the rice. In the event you don’t have one, it’s a good funding if you happen to love sushi and make sushi usually. In any other case you should use a big bowl. By no means use the rice cooker bowl for mixing the vinegar in. The acidity of the vinegar will harm the rice cooker bowl.

Find out how to Make Chirashi Step by Step

1. Cooking the sushi rice   

Comply with your rice cooker instructions to make the rice and observe my excellent sushi rice recipe. 

2.Making ready the substances

Whereas the rice is being cooked, make sushi vinegar and prep the opposite substances. I selected to make use of renkon lotus root, snow peas, sakura denbu and tamagoyaki (Japanese egg omelette) lower into dices.

3. Assembling the bowl with greens and garnishes 

As soon as all of the substances are prepared, it’s time to assemble your chirashi bowl: Take particular person serving bowls or one giant sharing platter if most well-liked. Divide the cooked sushi rice equally among the many bowls/platter ensuring it covers the underside. Combine within the substances by reducing by way of the rice reasonably than mushing it collectively. Scatter some toppings creatively on prime of the rice and garnish.

Variations & Solutions

Relying on the area of Japan and households, there are lots of sorts of chirashi that exist akin to gomoku chirashi, kaisen chirashi (or kaisen don if common rice is used), and others as talked about above. Different variations of chirashi embrace Poke bowls and Sushi Cake.

Brief Minimize

Chirashi is simple sushi to make although somewhat time consuming as a result of you must make sushi rice, make the substances to combine in, and getting ready topping substances individually. So in Japan, you should buy ready-made Chirashi Sushi Combine in packages. You prepare dinner rice, and open the packet and blend it into the cooked rice. High together with your chosen toppings.

What to Serve With Your Chirashi?

Chirashi is sort of filling so I normally I serve with miso soup or Japanese clear soup and pickled ginger, rice bran pickles, daikon pickles, pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber sunomono, or Asian cucumber salad.

Find out how to Retailer Chirashi?

It’s best served freshly made as a result of in any other case any sushi must be saved below 50°F (10°C) and the standard goes down. Nevertheless, it’s straightforward to make an excessive amount of greater than you must serve, so it may be saved within the fridge and likewise freezer.

Fridge – The standard of cooked rice begins to deteriorate at 35-37°F(2-3°C) and it turns into dry. It’s tough to retailer sushi within the situation it’s made. We have to separate sushi rice and topping substances and wrap them with plastic wrap, then wrap round with newspaper. Retailer it within the vegetable and fruit compartment in your fridge. It can maintain for just a few days. The chilled chirashi may be loved once more, by steaming or microwave the sushi rice then prime with separated toppings.

FAQ

Keep Related

In the event you just like the recipe please price the recipe and go away feedback beneath. Additionally don’t neglect to observe me on Youtube, Pinterest, Fb, Twitter and Instagram. This fashion you retain updated with all the most recent happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t neglect to Join a weekly e-newsletter so that you by no means miss out on new genuine scrumptious Japanese recipes! Join kind is on the right-hand sidebar.

Chirashi Sushi

Scrumptious and exquisite Chirashi sushi recipe that may be loved for a lot of particular events.

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Primary Course, Rice dish

Delicacies: Japanese

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Prepare dinner Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 serve

Energy: 430kcal

Writer: Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles

Charge this recipe

Print
Pin

Directions

Sushi Rice

• Wash the rice just a few instances until the water turns into clear.

• Drain the water and place the rice in a rice cooker. Add 10% much less quantity of water than rice and the piece of kombu kelp when you’ve got.

• Set the rice to prepare dinner as per your rice cooker.

• Whereas the rice is cooking, in a small pot, warmth the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt collectively to make the sushi vinegar on medium warmth till the sugar dissolves.

• Moisten the wood tub with water and wipe extra water off with a material.

• As soon as the rice is cooked, take away the kelp strip (if you happen to used a kelp strip)  from the rice and place the rice into the wood tub. Pour the sushi vinegar over it and blend with a wood spatula to flavour the rice whereas fanning it to chill it down.

MIxing-in Elements

• Whereas the rice is being cooked, put together “mixing in” substances. Squeeze extra water out of shiitake mushrooms. Do not discard the water as a result of it’s “shiitake dashi” and will likely be used to prepare dinner different substances.

• Take away the stem off the soaked mushrooms and slice mushrooms thinly.

• Place shiitake dashi, sliced shiitake mushrooms, carrot, kanpyo and all seasonings in a saucepan.

• Deliver it to boil, then simmer till a lot of the liquid evaporates.

• Flip the warmth off, Drain any extra liquid left with a sieve.

Toppings

• Make tamagoyaki. Crack the eggs right into a small mixing bowl and add all seasonings for tamagoyaki, and whisk all collectively.

• Pressure the egg combination with a sieve twice.

• Warmth the oil in an oblong frying pan over medium warmth.

• Pour 1/3 of the egg combination into the pan. Break any bubbles fashioned with a pair of chopsticks and scramble gently.

• When the floor is solidified somewhat, fold and push the egg to at least one finish of the pan with chopsticks 

• Wipe the empty aspect of the pan with oil-soaked kitchen paper and pour one other 1/3 of the egg combination into the empty area of the pan.

• Carry the folded egg as much as let the egg combination run below it.

• Fold and roll the egg from one aspect of the pan and wipe the empty area of the pan with the oil-soaked kitchen paper.

• Pour the final 1/3 of egg combination and repeat fold and roll. 

• Flip the warmth off and take away the tamagoyaki egg roll from the pan. When it’s cooled down, lower it into small cubes and put aside.

• Defrost frozen lotus roots and string snow peas and parboil them and put aside.

Assemble Chirashi

• Combine the cooked and drained extra liquid mixing-in substances into the sushi rice. Don’t mush it, reasonably by reducing movement. *10

• Scatter tamagoyaki cubes, snow peas, renkon lotus roots and sakura denbu over the sushi rice.

• Garnish with chopped shiso leaves and thinly sliced myoga Japanese ginger.

• Sprinkle white sesame seeds.

Notes

*1 See the detailed instruction and rationalization in Make Sushi Rice Completely put up. Additionally, there’s a sushi rice ingredient calculator to regulate the quantity. You want equal to 4 sushi rolls for this recipe. 
*2 You may omit Kombu kelp if you happen to don’t have entry to this ingredient, nevertheless, when you’ve got it, undoubtedly use it because it offers further umami kick to the sushi rice. 
*3 Don’t discard the soaking water. It’s shiitake mushroom dashi full of umami and will likely be used for cooking mixing in substances. 
*4 I used ready-made Kanpyo packet from a neighborhood Japanese grocery retailer. If you cannot entry Kanpyo, you could possibly substitute this with a-ge deep-fried tofu or koya dofu or konjac 
*5 Use the water used for soaking dried shiitake mushrooms (Shiitake Dashi). 
*6 I used already sliced and frozen Renkon that I purchased from a Japanese grocery retailer. 
*7 You should buy from Japanese grocery shops or on-line. In the event you can not entry this ingredient, you’ll be able to change with one thing that provides a pinkish color like salmon roe, cod roe, or radish or cooked carrot lower out into flower form. 
*8  Myoga is rising in my yard. Myoga is in season in Summer time and Autumn, you could discover contemporary myoga at Japanese/Asian grocery. If you cannot entry, you’ll be able to omit this ingredient, or substitute with match stick like lower ginger. 
*9 I develop Shiso leaves in my yard too as I like this Japanese herb. In the event you can’t get shiso leaves, change with chopped scallions or cilantro for inexperienced color. 
*10 You should use the hangiri wood tub to serve, but when you’ll serve in a unique bowl, you must take away combined sushi rice right into a bowl to serve at this level. 

Vitamin

Energy: 430kcal | Carbohydrates: 92g | Protein: 7g | Fats: 3g | Saturated Fats: 1g | Trans Fats: 1g | Sodium: 1474mg | Potassium: 211mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1286IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 5mg

Chopstick Chronicles is a participant within the Amazon Companies LLC Associates Program, an affiliate promoting program designed to supply a method for websites to earn promoting charges by promoting and linking to Amazon.com. As an amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.