Scattered Seafood Sushi

This family loves Japanese food but eating out in Japanese restaurant has to be on special occasions because of the cost factor. The next best thing (in fact, I think it is the best thing as I have control over the freshness, quality and quantity of my ingredients) is to cook Japanese at home and it is not difficult.
Want to do something which restaurants don't normally serve and easy...that leaves me with the scattered sushi which means anything goes. The best thing about this dish is, you put what you like for the toppings.
While getting a few things for the dish, I saw grilled unagi all ready to serve at Recipe House for about Rm20! (an unagi set at our favourite Japanese joint costs Rm 32 with half the amount of unagi I was looking at). Knowing how crazy the kids are over this stuff, I have to include this topping.

So a scattered seafood sushi it is!

Scattered Sushi

Serve 4 - 6

For the sushi rice

4 cups short grain rice, Bario or our very own Saza's beras bukit (hill rice) is good

4 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup rice vinegar

Wash rice, add water and cook in the rice cooker.

Mix sugar, salt and vinegar in a small pot over low heat until dissolved. Leave to cool.

When rice is done, leave in cooker for another 10 minutes.
With a flat rice spoon, turn rice out into a wide pan and at the same time sprinkle vinegar mix over the rice.

Toss the rice with horizontal cutting strokes so that the vinegar mixes through. All these done under a fast fan, the reason being to cool the rice fast so that it doesn't become mushy.

When cool, cover with a clean kitchen cloth until ready to use. This rice can be used for all sushi and nori maki.

For the topping

4-6 dried shiitaki mushrooms, soaked until soft, discard stems and slice thinly

1 cup water + 1/2 teaspoon dashi granules

2 tablespoon mirin

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

12 fresh medium sized prawns

200g grilled unagi

2 sheets nori, toasted

3 eggs

1 carrot, peeled and julienned

1 small cucumber, seeded and julienned

Bring to boil soy sauce, mirin, dashi and sugar in a small pot. Add mushroom, simmer until tender. Drain and let cool.

Dip prawns into boiling water for 2 minutes. Peel, leaving the tails on and devein.

Stir eggs lightly with a dash of sugar and a pinch of salt (don't let air bubbles form).

Cook in a frying pan without stirring or turning with low heat until set. Cool on a chopping board. Cut into thin strips.

Cut unagi into 1 cm stripes.

Place sushi rice on a serving plate. I used a 36cm flat plate so I can thin out the rice to about 2.5 cm thick.

Scatter the eggs, carrot and cucumber over rice. Then crumble the toasted nori over. Arrange the mushroom, prawns and unagi attractively on top, garnish with some julienned pickle ginger on the unagi and cilantro all over.

Note: Suggested toppings - beef or chicken teriyaki over toasted b/w sesame seeds, grilled calamari or sashimi (make sure the fish is very fresh and topped on only when ready to eat).

Jo