RECIPE

This is a beautiful dish; homemade sushi rice with fresh salmon and tuna sashimi, topped with sunomono (Japanese pickled cucumber salad) and a sprinkling of other superfoods.
The recipe has been created for us by Ed Cudlipp, otherwise known as 'Cud Cooks', who spent six months living in Japan and working in a Japanese restaurant on the north island of Hokkaido. Ed shows us that all you need to enjoy a Japanese feast at home is good quality ingredients and a sharp, high-quality set of knives. Ed uses our Professional Kitchen Knives here, with the Carving Knife working well for the sashimi.

A note on ingredients: Any good quality fishmonger will stock fresh salmon and tuna that is safe to eat raw (check with your fishmonger first), and if not, this dish works well with cooked fish or another protein or vegetable of your choice.

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:

Rice

1 - Start by washing the sushi rice. Do this in a bowl using cold water and a sieve, replacing the water as it becomes cloudy. The rice is ready once the water no longer runs cloudy (or very almost).
2 - Place the rice in a saucepan and add 300ml of cold water. Place a lid on the saucepan, turn the heat to high and once the water begins to boil, turn the heat down low and leave to cook with the lid on for 16-18 minutes, until the water has been absorbed by the rice.

3 - While the rice is cooking, make your rice seasoning. To a small saucepan add the rice vinegar, salt and sugar, put on a low heat and stir until everything is dissolved. Once dissolved, remove from the heat and keep warm until the rice is cooked.

4 - Once the rice is cooked, transfer into a bowl and gently fold in the rice seasoning mixture. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set aside for later. The rice should be just above room temperature when served.

Sunomono (Japanese pickled cucumber salad)

1 - Thinly slice the cucumbers.
2 - Mix the sliced cucumbers with 5g of salt and leave for 10 minutes to draw excess moisture from the cucumbers. After 10 minutes, drain the excess water from the cucumbers.
3 - Make the pickling mixture by combining the rice vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved.
4 - Pour the pickling mixture over the sliced cucumbers and mix with the sesame seeds and sesame oil.
5 - Leave for a minimum of 30 minutes to pickle (as you make the rest of the dish).

Toppings

1 - De-seed and thinly slice the red chillis.
2 - Thinly slice the radishes into rounds.
3 - Thinly slide the green section of the spring onions into long batons (top tip - place these into iced water and they will curl for a better aesthetic).
4 - Halve the avocado and slice each segment (try to do this near to serving, or cover well, to ensure they don't discolour).
5 - Blanch the edamame beans and refresh in cold water (or use cooked from a packet).
6 - Slice your nori sheets into triangles or squares (if using).
7 - Place all of the toppings on a plate, ready for serving.

Fish

Using your sharpest, longest knife:

Slice the salmon and tuna into thin strips with your knife at an angle. This should be done against the grain of the fillets for best texture (go across the lines in the fish, not with the lines in the fish). Do this in singular long strokes for best results.

Assembly

1 - Fill the bowls with a layer of sushi rice (top tip - dress the rice with some soy sauce).
2 - Assemble your fish and toppings on the sushi rice.
3 - Serve with bowls of soy sauce, extra pickled ginger and wasabi.