Chirashi Bowl
ちらし寿司
Serves 2 · Prep: 25 minutes · Cook: 20 minutes · Total: about 45 minutes
Ever since a Japanese supermarket opened near me, I haven't ordered a single bowl of chirashi from a restaurant! It is one of the few restaurant dishes that actually feels easier at home once you have access to good fish. The rice is the only real cooking, and everything else is just choosing a few pieces of sashimi, slicing them cleanly, and arranging them over the bowl with tamago, pickles, shiso, ginger, and wasabi.
Ingredients
Sushi rice
- 1 cup Japanese short-grain rice
- 1 cup water, or use the rice cooker line
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Fish and seafood (about 8 to 10 oz total)
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Yellowtail or hamachi
- White fish, such as snapper, sea bream, fluke, or kanpachi
- Scallop
- Cooked shrimp
- Ikura
Toppings
- 2 to 4 slices tamago
- Shiso leaves
- Pickled ginger
- Takuan or other Japanese pickles
- Wasabi
- Toasted sesame seeds (optional)
- Thinly sliced cucumber (optional)
- Edible flowers or microgreens (optional)
To serve
- Soy sauce
- Extra wasabi
Instructions
- 1
Cook the rice
Rinse the rice several times, until the water runs mostly clear. Drain well. Cook in a rice cooker with 1 cup water, or according to your rice cooker markings.
- 2
Season the rice
While the rice cooks, stir together the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Transfer the hot rice to a wide bowl. Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold gently with a rice paddle or spatula — do not mash it. Let the rice cool until warm or room temperature; chirashi is best when the rice isn't hot enough to warm the fish.
- 3
Prep the fish
Keep the fish cold until you are ready to assemble. Slice the sashimi about ¼ inch thick, cutting at a slight angle so each piece is broad and easy to lay over the rice. If using scallop, slice it in half horizontally. If using cooked shrimp, butterfly it or slice it in half lengthwise.
- 4
Build the bowls
Divide the sushi rice between two shallow bowls. Lay shiso leaves over part of the rice, then arrange the sashimi in small sections instead of mixing everything together. Add the tamago, pickled ginger, takuan, scallop, shrimp, and ikura. Finish with a small dab of wasabi and a sprinkle of sesame seeds if using.
- 5
Serve
Serve right away with soy sauce on the side. I prefer dipping the fish lightly into soy sauce as I eat instead of pouring soy sauce over the whole bowl, but either works.
Recipe notes
Cook’s notes
- For the fish and seafood, you don't need all of the options listed — a good bowl can be three kinds of fish plus one extra topping.
- Do not assemble the bowls far ahead. Keep the fish cold, and let the rice cool separately before plating.
- For an easier bowl, buy a mixed sashimi pack, tamago, and pickles from a Japanese market. Then all you need to make is the rice.
Food safety
- Buy fish specifically sold for raw preparation.
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