Chirashi Bowl with Perfectly Seasoned Sushi Rice

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Scattered sushi at home, without a single roll to make. The whole dish rests on one skill — cooking and seasoning short-grain rice properly — then you fan sashimi-grade fish you bought already sliced over the top. Sushi-counter payoff for about a third of the price, and the only heat involved is a pot of rice.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Japanese short-grain sushi rice
• 1 3/4 cups cold water, plus more for rinsing
• 1 inch square piece kombu (optional)

• 4 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

• 5 oz sashimi-grade tuna (maguro), pre-sliced
• 4 oz sashimi-grade salmon, pre-sliced
• 3 oz sashimi-grade yellowtail or fluke, pre-sliced
• 4 cooked cold-water shrimp (ebi), butterflied
• 2 tbsp salmon roe (ikura) or tobiko

• 1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tbsp pickled ginger (gari)

• 1 ripe avocado, sliced
• 1/2 sheet toasted nori, cut into thin strips
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 3 tbsp soy sauce, for serving
• 1 tsp wasabi paste
• shiso leaves or microgreens (optional)

Instructions

1. Order or buy your fish the day you plan to eat it. Ask the counter for sashimi-grade fish already sliced for sashimi — 12 oz total across two or three kinds is plenty for two bowls. Keep it in the coldest part of the fridge on a plate over a bag of ice, loosely covered, until serving.
2. Place the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, and swish with your hand for 15 seconds. Pour off the cloudy water and repeat 3 to 4 times, until the water runs nearly clear. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve and let the rice sit 15 minutes to hydrate evenly.
3. Combine the drained rice, 1 3/4 cups cold water, and the kombu in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat uncovered, then cover, drop the heat to low, and simmer 12 minutes without lifting the lid. Kill the heat and let it steam, still covered, 10 minutes more.
4. While the rice cooks, make the sushi vinegar: whisk the 4 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar, and 1 1/2 tsp salt in a small bowl until fully dissolved (30 seconds of whisking, or warm it 15 seconds in the microwave if the sugar is stubborn). Do not boil it — you want the vinegar's aroma intact.
5. Also make the cucumbers: toss the sliced cucumber with 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1/2 tsp sugar, and a pinch of salt. Let sit at room temperature at least 15 minutes, then squeeze gently and drain before plating.
6. Discard the kombu and turn the hot rice out into a wide non-metal bowl or a rimmed wooden board. Drizzle the sushi vinegar over the surface. Using a rice paddle or silicone spatula held like a knife, cut and fold through the rice with slicing motions — never stir or mash — for about 2 minutes, fanning it with a piece of cardboard or a magazine as you go. The grains should look glossy and separate.
7. Cover the rice with a damp clean kitchen towel and let it cool to just-warm body temperature, 15 to 20 minutes. Do not refrigerate it; cold rice turns hard and chalky.
8. Pat the fish slices dry with a paper towel. Divide the seasoned rice between two wide shallow bowls, about 1 1/2 cups each, spreading it into an even bed without packing it down.
9. Arrange the fish over the rice in overlapping fans, keeping each variety in its own zone so the flavors stay distinct. Tuck in the avocado, drained cucumber, butterflied shrimp, and pickled ginger, then spoon the roe into an open corner.
10. Scatter the nori strips, scallions, and sesame seeds over the top and add shiso or microgreens if using. Serve immediately with small dishes of soy sauce and a dab of wasabi on the side — dip the fish, not the rice.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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