A Simple Recipe of Sushi Ikura

Nowadays, sushi has become an elaboration in many establishments, restaurants, celebrations and even at home, but what is sushi? Is it always synonymous with raw fish?

It is estimated that the origin of sushi dates back to a period between the third and fifth century BC in China. It was a method of conserving fish between layers of salt and raw rice. The most primitive form of sushi known as NareZushi was developed for centuries in Southeast Asia and entered Japan around the 8th century AD. C. Then it was made by pickling rice and fish simultaneously with sake and vinegar, leaving it to ferment under the weight of a stone. At the time of eating it, rice was discarded and the fish was eaten.

As the fermentation process of narezushi was long, in the Edo era (1603-1868), rice vinegar was started to be made from sake grounds, which when mixed with rice became a popular dish. Towards the year 1800, in Edo Bay, the current city of Tokyo began to be taken with a piece of fish on top, giving rise to the NigiriZushi, considered today as the most traditional form of sushi and also referred to as EdomaeZushi sushi.

 
What is sushi?

The meaning sushi comes precisely from the word Su. Which means vinegar and Shi, which could be interpreted as part of the word meshi, which means cooked rice. So, all those dishes that we elaborate with that mixture of cooked rice and vinegar, and that we see with dozens of shapes, sizes and colors we will call them in a general way SuShi. Also keep in mind that when we take cuts of raw fish without rice, this dish is not called sushi, but sashimi, Ikura sashimi for example. Although both dishes are related to each other. However, the form and technique used to make sushi is what will determine the name of the piece of sushi, which, in general, should be of a size that can be consumed in a single bite. 

Next, we will show a sushi recipe, Sushi Ikura, using Ikura Gunkan – Salmon Roe Sushi. What is Ikura? This is an orange salmon ripe ovary with dark to reddish variations. Usually served with added salt water or salt.

Ikura Gunkan – Salmon Ikura

– Ingredients:
4 sheets of dried nori seaweed
100g of salmon ikura
1 piece of 4 cm cucumber
220g short grain rice (paella type)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 spoon of sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Japanese soy sauce
Gari pickled ginger

– Preparation:

1. 
   Wash the rice with water in a colander until it is clear.
   2. Put the rice in a saucepan and water that does not exceed 3 to 4 cm above (a little more water than rice). Next, bring to a boil to the maximum until the boiling water is about to come out.
   3. Once at this point, set the fire to a minimum of 10 minutes.
   4. During the whole process of cooking and resting the rice, preferably the lid should not be removed.
   5. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and let it rest for 5 to 10 more minutes.
   6. Meanwhile, heat (until dissolved) salt, sugar and rice vinegar.
   7. Once the rice is cooked, place it in a bowl. Thereupon sprinkle with freshly prepared syrup. Mix little by little until the rice is well soaked in it.
   8. Once the rice preparation is finished, it is left covered with a damp cloth so that it does not dry out until it cools.
   9. Roast the nori seaweed leaves with flame for about five minutes, until they get a green color and begin to emanate aroma. Let them cool and cut them into sixteen strips about three centimeters wide.
   10. Drain the Ikura salmon roe well in a cloth strainer. Wet your hands and take a tablespoon of rice, mold it and wrap it in a strip of seaweed, so that one end of the seaweed is closed at the bottom and the other has a bag-like opening. Press the rice into the seaweed, so that there is a hole in the upper part to incorporate the rest of the ingredients. Fill the hole with the Ikura salmon roe.
   11. Wash the cucumber piece and cut it lengthwise into four strips of half a centimeter, more or less; Cut them in half and cut it into thin slices with which you can decorate the sushi snacks.
   12. Distribute the sushi in a bowl and serve it with pickled ginger and soy sauce.

Now you got the delicious recipe. Just try at your home!

Samantha

Samantha hails from Virginia and is a proud wife to a retired Deputy Sheriff and mother to two amazing little boys named Jack & William. A veteran product reviewer; Samantha has been reviewing products for 8 years and offers high quality product reviews with original photography.