CHRISTMAS SUSHI

2020-12-16 12:22:10

Christmas sushi is a very delicious combination of Polish and Japanese cuisine, and in terms of taste it resembles a little bit the Greek-style fish – a traditional Polish dish served on Christmas Eve.

Instead of the Japanese seasoning blend you can use powdered chilli or choose a few favourite ingredients for this seasoning mix.

The Christmas sushi is a perfect light appetiser, not only for Christmas and special occasions. It is sure to whet the appetite of your guests and they will certainly ask for more.

ingredients

4 Nori sheets

Sushi rice:

270 g short-grain sushi rice
320 ml water
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon xylitol
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sushi fillings:

2 carrots (140 g)
1 parsley root (30 g)
1 1/2 teaspoons of Japanese seasoning blend (ingredients: sesame, ginger, sweet pepper, hot pepper, salt, fennel, onion, garlic, black pepper)
1 celeriac (140 g)
1 leek (45 g) – preferably the green part
1 clove garlic
2 bay leaves
8 balls of allspice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
a pinch of salt
a good pinch of herbal pepper
oil for frying
200 ml water
100 g smoked tofu

Sushi sauce:

150 ml water
2 heaped teaspoons tomato purée
2 teaspoons teriyaki sauce
3 teaspoons soy sauce
a pinch of ground chilli
a pinch of ground ginger

recipe

Sushi rice

Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water is clear. Pour 320 ml of fresh water into a pot and leave the rice in it for 10 minutes. Then bring the rice to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Don't stir the rice. It's a good idea to choose a pot with a glass lid so that you can see when the rice has absorbed all the water. When the rice has absorbed the whole water leave it in a covered pot for 15 minutes. Prepare the sushi vinegar: mix together thoroughly the rice vinegar, xylitol and salt. Put the rice into a glass bowl, add the sushi vinegar and mix thoroughly. Let the rice cool down completely.

Sushi fillings

Peel and wash the vegetables. Cut carrots, parsley root, celeriac and leek into long strips. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the carrot and parsley strips and the Japanese seasoning blend. Fry for a while over medium heat, then add 100 ml water and cook until the water has completely evaporated and the vegetables are soft.

Heat the oil in a second frying pan, add the previously chopped garlic, celeriac and leek strips, bay leaves, allspice, soy sauce, salt and herbal pepper. Fry for a while over medium heat, then add 100 ml of water and cook until the water has completely evaporated and the vegetables are soft.

When the vegetables have cooled down a little bit, remove the bay leaves and allspice. Divide each sushi filling ingredient into four parts.

Cut the tofu into quite thin strips and also divide into four parts. Divide also the rice in the same way and prepare a bowl with water to moisten the Nori.

Sushi rolls

Place the Nori sheet on a bamboo sushi mat (rough side up and shiny side down) and spread the rice evenly over the sheet. Leave a 3-cm margin at the top that will be moistened with water to seal the roll. First put the tofu strips 2 cm from the edge of the sheet, next to it the carrot and parsley strips, and finally the celeriac and leek strips. Use your fingers to hold the filling ingredients in place while you begin to roll the Nori pressing the sushi mat gently. Moisten the left margin with water and seal the sushi roll. When all four sushi rolls are ready, use a very sharp knife to cut them into smaller pieces.

Finally, prepare the sushi sauce mixing all the sauce ingredients together.

Serve the sushi pieces with the sauce putting it in a dip bowl. Eat your sushi with chopsticks (or try to eat it in the typical way, but don’t worry if you can’t – eating the sushi with your hands or using a fork is also acceptable) dunking it in the sushi sauce.