Sushi Class 2: Chirashi-zushi

Tokyo style with salmon and tuna sashimi, tamago yaki, unagi kabayaki, shiitake mushrooms, avocado, cucumber, salmon roe, shiso leaf on top of sushi rice with wasabi in a cucumber cup

This was the second class in a series of three sushi classes I'm teaching for the Fort Worth Japanese Society.  The first class was on the basics--how to make sushi rice, inside out rolls and nigiri-zushi.

This class highlighted three types of chirashi-zushi, or tossed sushi.  The first was gomoku chirashi zushi, a typical homestyle version using cooked carrots, simmered shiitake mushrooms, lotus root, shredded omelet and kampyo (simmered gourd), along with some pickled ginger and nori.

I made all the ingredients from scratch, a huge undertaking considering all the simmering and chopping, especially simmering the dried shiitake mushrooms and getting the taste and texture just right.  When my mother made this type of chirashi-zushi she would use a can of "chirashi-zushi no moto" and now I see why!  However, my version here was so tasty and fresh.  For those who want a vegetarian sushi you can't beat the gomoki chirashi-zushi.  We also made another type of chirashi-zushi called Bara-zushi, or Kansai style chirashi-zushi.  This one was similar to the first type, however the ingredients are cut into large pieces and can include meat or fish.  My version had pieces of shrimpa and unagi (eel) along with tamgo yaki (egg) and cucumbers and avocados.

Gomuki style with shiitake mushrooms, kanpyo, koyadofu, and omelet

Kansai style (bara-zushi) with cooked shrimp, eel, omelet, cucumbers

I really enjoyed the classic Tokyo style chirashi-zushi the best, though.  Maybe it's because I have fond memories of having that type in Japan or with my mother, but it really is my favorite and the easiest to make.  You can see in the photo below the plates with the components for the chirashi-zushi, and the finished one I made at the very top of the blog. 

The most important ingredient is good sushi rice.  I covered that in my first sushi class blog post on the basics.  Place the rice in a shallow bowl, or as in my photo, a chirashi bowl.  They are even available on Amazon for a reasonable price.

Prepare all the componets in advance and leave the raw fish for last.  For my recipe I used:

sushi grade salmon, sushi grade big eye tuna, sushi shrimp, unagi (broiled and barbequed eel), simmered shiitake mushrooms, avocado, tamago yaki, cucumber fans, salmon roe in a lemon boat, wasabi in a cucumber cup, sushi ginger and shiso leaves from my garden.  The unagi kabayaki is heated right before preparing the chirashi by broiling it briefly in an oven (or toaster oven).

You can use any sushi grade fish you desire and cooked items in place of eel, such as a piece of chicken teriyaki. Slice the sushi grade fish right before you serve the chirashi-zushi.  There is some preparation involved in this dish such as making a recipe of tamago yaki, simmering shiitake mushrooms, and making some pretty cucumber fans, cups, and lemon boats.  I have a great book, The Sushi Experience by Hiroko Shimbo in which she has detailed illustrations on how to make the cucumber fans and lemon boats.  They are very simple, yet look so beautiful.

Arrange the various items on top of the sushi rice and enjoy!  The raw fish can be dabbed with a bit of wasabi and dipped lightly in soy sauce or in the special tsuke joyu sauce we made for the class which contains some dashi and mirin.