Temari Sushi

OCTOBER 3, 2011

by NAMI

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I took a week off to update my site.  Um, where’s the update you might ask?  It’s our new Recipe Index.  I have to give a huge credit for my husband because he did the majority of work by creating codes while I just did the tedious “cut and paste” part.  Updating the recipe index with a better thumbnail for each recipe had been my #1 to-do list for a while.  I wanted my Recipe Index to be more user-friendly and visually attractive so users can tell with a quick glance what the dish is (even if they don’t recognize the name).  Hopefully this will help with your recipe browsing experience making it easier and more fun.  I still have Recipe Index by List, Ingredient, and A-Z available in case you prefer the old version.  I also modified my recipe box – I think the new version is easier to read and print out.  I hope you like these new updates.

Now, are you ready for the giveaway winner?  Here’s the winner.  Congratulations Martha!  I’ll be contacting you shortly.  Thank you everyone for joining this giveaway and I’ll be working on your recipe request. 

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Today my Temari Sushi recipe is being featured on celebrations.com.  This was a huge honor.  Initially my guest post was supposed to go on their blog site, but the editor wanted to feature my post on their main site!  Thank you celebration.com for featuring my post.

Temari Sushi is a casual sushi that we can make at home.  You don’t need sushi chef’s skill to make these cute delicious little balls of sushi.  Temari (“hand ball” in Japanese) originated from China is children’s toy ball made from remnants of old kimonos and covered with colorful fabrics.

Temari Balls made by 90 year old lady in Japan
Photo Courtesy of NanaAkua (click for more photos)

As time passed and rubber balls were invented, Temari evolved from play toys to folk art objects.  Since then their unique, colorful, and elegant designs have been enjoyed by the Japanese as decorations inside homes.

Just like Temari, Temari Sushi allows people to create any type of sushi they want using all kinds of ingredients.  Enjoy and be creative to make these colorful sushi balls!

Print

Temari Sushi

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: Serves 4 (28 Temari Sushi)

Ingredients:

• Sushi Rice
• 1/2 inch lotus root
• 1/2 inch carrot
• 1 egg
• A pinch of salt
• 2 lemon slices
• 1/4 avocado
• 1/4 cup Sakura Denbu
• 1/2 sheet of nori seaweed
• 3 shiso (Perilla)
• Kaiware daikon (radish shoot) for garnish
Seasoning
• 1/2 cup dashi stock
• 1 tsp. sake
• 1 tsp. mirin
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. usukuchi (light color) soy sauce (or replace with 1 tsp. regular soy sauce + ¼ tsp. salt)
• A pinch of salt
Your Selection of Sashimi
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Tai (Sea Bream)
• Hamachi (Yellowtail)
• Uni (Sea Urchin)
• You can also use cooked shrimp, smoked salmon, etc.
• For US residents, you can buy sashimi grade raw fish at Catalina Offshore Products.

Instructions:

1. Remove the part of lotus root to make it look like flower pattern.

2. And cut out the carrot slices to look like flower.

3. In a small saucepan, bring Seasoning to a boil and add lotus root and carrot. Cook until soft.

4. In a non-stick frying pan heat oil over medium heat. In a bowl, whisk egg and salt together. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and make sure the egg is spread evenly. Flip once the bottom side is cooked. When the egg is cooked, take it out and chiffonade the egg into thin strips.

5. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of scale and measure 30g (2 Tbsp) of sushi rice and make a round ball. Transfer to a plate and measure next batch. Make sure to cover the rice ball with saran wrap and sushi rice with the damp towel to prevent from the rice drying.

6. Cut Sashimi into thin slices.

7. Place a sheet of plastic wrap and lay down the sashimi of your choice. Put the sushi rice ball on top, wrap the saran wrap around the rice ball. Twist and close the wrap tightly make a ball shape.

8. Continue with other ingredients.

9. Garnish with ikura, kaiware daikon, and other miniature greens.

{Left to right from top}
1. Egg + Shiso + Carrot, 2. Avocado + Tuna, 3. Smoked Salmon + Lemon, 4. Egg + Nori Seaweed + Ikura, 5. Shiso + Ikura, 6. Uni (sea urchin) + Nori Seaweed + Ikura, 7. Shiso + Tai (Sea Bream), 8. Sakura Denbu + Shiso, 9. Smoked Samon + Lemon, 10. Shrimp + Ikura, 11. Avocado + Tuna, 12. Lotus Root + Carrot, 13. Shiso + Lotus Root + Carrot, 14. Egg + Nori Seaweed + Ikura, 15. Hamachi (yellowtail) + Kaiware Daikon, 16. Salmon + Ikura

Enjoy!