While sushi is very much an intrinsic part of the Japanese culture, it has quickly become a global phenomenon. It’s origin dates back to at least 2,000 years and its made in variations in the Korean and Chinese kitchens as well.
As you may know, it is primarily made with seasoned rice and fish, egg, or fresh vegetables. But it is not so much the ingredients that make it the hero dish – because you can always change those – but the art of rolling that truly defines it.
However, not everybody is an expert at rolling sushi. If you don’t get it right, it can turn into a plate of rice, meat, and vegetables.
But what if we told you there is an easier alternative to enjoy this dish without worrying about the rolling?
The salmon aburi recipe doesn’t require as much finesse as the traditional sushi and tastes and looks just the same. Plus, it can be had with the yummy mentaiko mayo and is totally Instagram worthy!
Here’s its recipe for you.
Folded Salmon Aburi Recipe With Mentaiko Mayo
Image courtesy: iStock
Ingredients:
- Japanese mayonnaise: 125 ml
- Sugar: 2 tsp
- Rice Vinegar: 3 tbsp
- Japanese grain rice (short): 2 cups
- Seaweed (yaki nori): 4 large sheets (25 cm x 25 cm)
- Sashimi grade salmon: 250 gm (thickly sliced)
- Avocado: 1 ripe (pitted and sliced)
- Shoyu and wasabi for serving
Steps
- Keep rice in a bowl and then cover it with water. Let it soak for around 30 minutes to an hour.
- Drain and rinse the rice till the water runs clear.
- Now place the rice in a rice cooker with around 425 ml of water.
- Take a bowl and then add some salt, sugar and rice vinegar. Keep stirring till the sugar gets dissolved.
- Once the rice is cooked, transfer it to a large mixing bowl.
- While the rice is still hot, pour the sugar mixture over the rice and then mix it with a fork so that it gets evenly distributed.
- Keep the rice bowl covered with a clean dish towel and let it cool.
- To make the mentaiko mayo, squeeze the roe out of the mentaiko sac into a medium-sized bowl. Add the Japanese mayo to it and stir it well.
- Put it inside a squeeze bottle and then set it aside.
- Now place a sheet of nori, the shiny side down on to the kitchen surface. With the help of a sharp knife and scissors, cut a slit from the centre of the sheet to left.
- Put some rice on top of the left-hand quarter of the nori sheet. Repeat the same for the bottom left half.
- Remember to leave a border around both the squares of rice.
- Now arrange the sliced salmon on the top-right quarter to form a square.
- Snip the mentaiko mayo and pour it in a zig-zag pattern over the salmon
- Now arrange the slices of avocado to form a square and leave a border around it.
- Now gently blow-torch the mentaiko mayo on top of the salmon. Do it till you get a light layer of char. Note that while you char, the oil from the salmon may sputter, so be careful.
- Fold the nori from the top left quarter of rice over to the right quarter of the salmon.
- Now, fold downwards to the bottom right, over the avocado. Then take the fold to the left and you will get a sushi sandwich. Seal the sides and you can slice them in half.
- Serve it with shoyu and wasabi on the side.
Things to remember before you try the salmon aburi recipe:
Image courtesy: Pexels
You can get creative with the filling. For instance, if you don’t like raw fish, you can replace the salmon with crab sticks or even crab meat. Remember to pat dry any moist ingredients with a paper towel before laying them on the seaweed.
The best part of this recipe is that it is less hassle. If you don’t have a blow torch, then you can use the hot pan to sear the salmon before transferring them to the nori sheet.
Also, if you don’t want to sear them at all, you can skip that completely. If you want to avoid the entire step of making the mentaiko mayo, go ahead and just use the plain Japanese mayo.
Here’s a little surprise for all of you, how about getting your hands on another easy sushi recipe that requires no rolling? Check out the recipe below:
Pressed Sushi
Image courtesy: Chopstick Chronicles
Pressed sushi, also known as Oshizushi in Japan – is the easiest to make. Get all your favourite sushi toppings and then press them together into a mould with sushi rice. Yes, it’s actually this easy!
Ingredients
- Sushi rice rolls -2
- Avocado: 1/2 sliced
- Japanese mayonnaise (1 tbsp)
- Wasabi
- Sushi ginger 5
- Smoked salmon (thinly sliced): 100 gm
Steps
- Wet the pressing mould also known as “Oshibako” under running water.
- Add smoked salmon slices at the bottom of the mould.
- Now, keep adding a layer of sliced avocado over the smoked salmon and mayonnaise.
- Add half the sushi rice into the mould. Make sure to fill the corner properly.
- With some force, compress the top of the mould.
- Now get a serving board and put the mould upside down and then flip them together.
- Cut the sushi about 1.2 inch/3cm apart using a sharp knife.
- Garnish it with sesame seeds and baby shisho leaves.
- Add wasabi and soy sauce for added taste.
Recipe courtesy: Chopstick Chronicles and 8Days | Lead/feature image: 8Days
Save the recipes for next time when you are craving some sushi. Let us know how they turned out
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