Chirashi Sushi Cupcake
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You may have heard of International Woman’s day on the 8th of March, but in Japan there’s also a day to celebrate girls & daughters called Hina Matsuri, or Dolls Festival, on the 3rd. Hina Matsuri is the day when families with young daughters display a set of dolls or ‘hina ningyo’ and wish for their children’s growth and happiness.

As with every festival in Japan, Hina Matsuri is associated with a set of delicious food eaten on this special day. One popular meal is Chirashi Sushi, a type of sushi made using colourful sashimi and vegetables on sushi rice. Here at Japancentre.com we’ve put our own spin on things, try making our colourful savoury Chirashi Sushi Cupcake this Hina Matsuri!

2 people 20 minutes 15 minutes spend

Ingredients

• 400g Cooked Rice
• 2 tbs Sushi Vinegar
• 2 tsp Red Shiso Rice Seasoning

Topping suggestions:
• Edamame Beans, Cucumber or Snap Peas
• Egg Omelette
• Smoked Salmon
• Surimi crabstick

Suggested Drink: Japanese Sake

How to prepare

First things first, we need to begin with rice preparation.
Follow our online recipe to make sticky and tasty Japanese rice. The job becomes even easier if you have a rice cooker at home!
Once your rice is ready, mix it well with the sushi vinegar before adding the shiso and mixing again. It is important that you mix the rice with shiso when it is still warm. Your rice should now have taken on a lovely red colour.
Grab two small ramekins and cover the inside with some cling film so that the sushi rice doesn’t stick to it. Spread the rice evenly into the ramekins and turn them out with the cling film.

Now we need to prepare the toppings for your Chirashi Sushi Cupcake. Slice your cucumber into thin stripes and place your smoked salmon, rolled as a rose flower, in the centre. If you wish to use slices of egg as in our picture, simply beat an egg and fry it into a very thin layer before cutting in slices. Cute and easy isn’t it? Have fun creating your own Chirashi Sushi Cupcake design in your own style, the more colourful the better!

Tips and information

•If you have a sushi mat you can use it to tighten your Chirashi Sushi Cupcake to stop it losing its shape.

• Once you’ve mastered the art of the basic Chirashi Sushi Cupcake, you can try to create layers of different colours by mixing rice with other colourful ingredients. Just mix a half quantity of rice with a half quantity of red shiso before putting it in your ramekin. Finally, add the rest of the rice and tighten your chirashizushi cupcake by pressing the top. You can also use other coloured rice seasoning for a rainbow effect!

• Chirashi Sushi Cupcakes are very colourful as each colour has its own meaning. The red colour helps to chase evil spirits away, white is a symbol of purity and green represents good health.