梅 — Mei Kitchen
Mei Kitchen
by Pamela Lim · 廖秀梅

Pressed Sushi (押し寿司)

pressed sushi
For years, I tried to make her happy by baking special cakes on her birthday, thinking every kid has a sweet tooth. It takes me quite many years to realize there are folks like me who prefer savoury stuff.
So I went about making a sushi cake, which is nothing but pressed sushi. Traditionally, pressed sushi is made in an oshizushihako (押し寿司箱) or pressed sushi box. I don’t have any, so I had to innovate.
Do you remember those Tasty magic videos… pressing sushi ingredients into ice-cube trays and all. So I went around the house to collect items I thought would make my sushi look cool.
While I am at it making a sushi cake, I went and pressed sushi on everything I can find: ice-cube trays, doughnut molds, and a cake tin.
Here’s the verdict: much easier than rolled sushi, nigiri or temaki sushi, and prettier too.

 

Recipe

Pressed Sushi

Prep
0 min
Cook
0 min
Total
0 min
Serves
0

Ingredients

Method

  1. Rice
  2. 01
    <p>Rinse the rice at least thrice. Choose Japanese sushi rice for best results. About 1/2 cup of uncooked rice for each person.</p>
  3. 02
    <p>If you do not know how to measure water with the index finger, then use 1 cup of rice : 1.3 cups of water.</p>
  4. 03
    <p>Cook the rice in a rice cooker or over the stove.</p><p>To cook rice over the stove, boil the water at medium heat with the rice until the water levels off with the rice.</p><p>Turn to the lowest heat possible and cover the pot of rice. Remove after 5 minutes. Keep the lid closed until you are ready to use it. Probably an hour later.</p><p>Now, if you are wondering at this point why Asians cook rice before anything else, because we do! That&#039;s just the most important step in our food preparation. Do the same!</p>
  5. 04
    <p>Drizzle sushi vinegar into the rice. I cup of rice will need 1/3 cup of sushi vinegar.</p><p>If you are making the sushi vinegar the ratio of vinegar : sugar : salt is 5:3:1 using the tablespoon or cup.</p>
  6. Fish
  7. 05
    <p>Slice the fish into the size you want. Typically 3 kinds of fish will make your dish look outstanding. Make sure the fish is of sashimi quality.</p>
  8. Garnishes
  9. 06
    <p>Edible flowers, spanish leaves, ikura, ebiko, chives, slices of fruits, slices of radishes or tomatoes are all great</p>
  10. 07
    <p>Sesame seeds</p>
  11. Assembly
  12. 08
    <p>Cook rice and season with sushi vinegar.Line the mold with at least 2 layers of cling wrap.</p>
  13. 09
    <p>Place fish/protein and cut veggies into the cling wrap to create a bottom layer.</p>
  14. 10
    <p>Fill the mold with rice to about half the height of the mold.</p>
  15. 11
    <p>Add another layer of veggies or meat/raw meat.</p>
  16. 12
    <p>Top the mold with rice.Refrigerate for 10 minutes.</p>
  17. 13
    <p>Remove the sushi from mold and garnish.</p>
  18. Sauces
  19. 14
    <p>My Japanese carpaccio sauce: mix 1 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of mirin and 2 tbsp of soya sauce with 1 tsp of grated ginger.</p>
  20. 15
    <p>Teriyaki sauce: Cook 1 tbsp of sugar with 2 tbsp of mirin and 2 tbsp soya sauce until the sugar has melted and sauce thickened.</p>
  21. 16
    <p>Japanese Mayonnaise or Siracha</p>
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