: deconstructed sushi :

Back in university, I was obsessed with watching Iron Chef - the original Japanese version. I would watch it every weekend without fail, and was always amazed at the quickness, agility and creativity of the chefs after only finding out the secret ingredient mere moments before battle mode.

In a much less intense environment, this semester I'm enrolled in a Chef's Table class where we're separated into groups and receive a 'black box' of ingredients 4 days prior to having to prepare a 3-course meal. Our theme last week was Japanese, so using our list of ingredients, I developed a deconstructed sushi - all of its elements separated out into its simplest forms. Shrimp was one of the proteins on the list, so I decided to saute them in a combination of soy, ginger, and wasabi - all of which you would find on a regular sushi plate. We served it as an appetizer, but I think it would actually make a neat hors d'oeuvre that you could serve at a party. I also originally served the sushi sprinkled with black sesame seeds, but unfortunately didn't have any at home when I recreated it for the blog! I think it adds a little something, so would recommend adding it.




Deconstructed Sushi with Ginger-Wasabi Shrimp

Ingredients:

Rice:
4 cups Japanese short grain rice, cooked
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
*(or 3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar - I use the Mitsukan brand and just follow the directions on the bottle)

Shrimp:
400 g raw shrimp (approx. 24 medium)
2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
1 tbsp Japanese mirin
1 tbsp fresh ginger root, minced
2 tsp wasabi paste (or less depending on your taste - you can also substitute with 1 tsp wasabi powder, which I prefer)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp sugar

1 tsp canola oil
12 Nori squares, 2x2-inch pieces
Black sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, sugar and salt until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle vinegar mixture over cooked rice when hot and mix through until everything is combined.
2. To prepare shrimp, peel, butterfly and remove vein.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, mirin, ginger, garlic, sugar and wasabi paste until thoroughly combined.
4. Heat 1 tsp oil in a nonstick pan. Add shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. Add soy sauce mixture and toss until all shrimps are coated. Set aside.
5. Arrange small mounds of rice on nori squares, and place the shrimp on top of rice. Sprinkle black sesame seeds if you have some on hand. Serve.