Sushi sandwiches
Use your favourite ingredients to make delicious Japanese-inspired onigirazu. Master the folding technique and surprise your family with a picnic or light meal!
• 8 square nori sheets
• 2 cups sushi rice, cooked according to the instructions on the packet
• 25ml black sesame seeds
• ½ cucumber, thinly sliced
• 8 radishes, thinly sliced
• about 100g smoked salmon offcuts
• about 80ml sliced pickled ginger, finely chopped
• shichimi togarashi spices
(see below) or wasabi
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• Kewpie mayonnaise and soy sauce, to serve
WHAT IS SHICHIMI TOGARASHI?
Shichimi togarashi, or Japanese 7-spice blend, is a spicy seasoning that usually consists of dried red chilli peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, dried orange peel, black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, ground ginger, poppy seeds and nori. Look out for it at your nearest Asian supermarket or deli. It’s not only delicious with sushi but also with noodles, in rubbing marinades, soups and salads – whether of Japanese origin or not.
Makes 8 parcels • Preparation: 25 minutes (provided the rice is cooked) 1 Get all the filling ingredients ready, as well as a bowl of water for dipping your fingers so that the ingredients (especially the rice) don’t stick together when you’re assembling the sandwiches.
2 Shape a 5 x 5cm square of rice, diagonally, in the middle of the first nori sheet. Sprinkle with a few sesame seeds. 3 Arrange a layer of cucumber, radish, smoked salmon, ginger, a sprinkling of spices, avocado and some spring onions neatly on top of the rice square – like a stacked sandwich.
4 Finish with a thin layer of sushi rice and another sprinkling of sesame seeds.
5 Fold each corner of the nori over the rice filling and press down gently. Use your fingers to slightly wet the corners of the nori with water if it doesn’t stick. Turn the parcel over so the seam is at the bottom and let it stand for a few minutes so the nori can soften and stick together properly.
Repeat with the other sheets and filling.
6 Using a sharp knife, cut each square in half and arrange on a serving platter with the cut sides facing up. Garnish with a pinch of the spices, spring onions and, if desired, a squirt of Kewpie mayonnaise and serve with soy sauce for dipping.
Variations
Other than the nori and sushi rice, the ingredients we’ve used can all be substituted. Feel free to experiment with your favourite combinations – even crumbed chicken and coleslaw, if you feel like it! For vegetarian or vegan sushi sandwiches, you can use thinly sliced beetroot, tomato, peppers, corn kernels or kimchi.