MIX-and-MATCH Sushi balls

temari zushi

These cute, pretty sushi balls are a favorite for hinamatsuri, or Girls’ Day, celebrations in Japan. Make them as a starter dish for your own festivities with a variety of colorful toppings, and serve them mix-and-match style.

MAKES 32 pieces | PREPARATION TIME 30 minutes, plus sushi rice and ingredient preparation

INGREDIENTS

3¹⁄₂oz (100g) skinless fillet of salmon | 3¹⁄₂oz (100g) skinless fillet of tuna | 3¹⁄₂oz (100g) skinless fillet of white fish, such as sea bass, cod, or halibut | 8 cooked jumbo or tiger shrimp | wasabi paste | 1 quantity sushi rice | 8 perilla leaves or cilantro leaves

METHOD

1 Start by cutting the fish as for hand-formed sushi into slices about ¹⁄₄in (5mm) thick. Cut 8 slices of each fish. (The quantity of fish suggested is more than you need because it is easier to work with a larger amount; you could use any extra slices in the Wafer-Thin Sashimi recipe.

2 Shell, clean, and butterfly the cooked shrimp. Remove the tail shells.

3 Place a clean, damp handkerchief (or a piece of plastic wrap; see Method) on the palm of your hand, and put a piece of fish on top. Smear a pinhead of wasabi paste on the fish. Using a wet dessert spoon, take a large spoonful of the sushi rice (about ³⁄₄oz/20g) and put it on top of the fish.

4 Pick up all four corners of the handkerchief and gather them in the middle over the rice. Twist tightly to compact the rice into a small ball, roughly the size of a ping-pong ball. Unwrap the sushi ball and place it on a plate while you repeat the process to make 8 sushi balls for each variety of fish and the shrimp.

5 For the white fish, make 8 sushi balls in the same way, but place a perilla leaf on top of the fish before adding the rice. When you have formed the sushi ball, the green color of the leaf will show through the white fish.

Other recipes

You can make sushi balls with many other toppings, including thin omelet, ham, cucumber, and rare roast beef (all of which should be sliced thinly and cut to postage stamp–size pieces). You can also use any variety of caviar.

Mix-and-match sushi balls