If You Knew Sushi Like I Know Sushi

Sushi Bake Casserole

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I love a good California roll so when I saw this recipe in the New York Times described as a deconstructed California roll, I was in. But first I had to track down a few ingredients I had not cooked with before.

First on the list, Kewpie Mayonnaise, a tangy creamy Japanese mayonnaise. As described in this article from Bon Appetit: “While American mayonnaise uses whole eggs, Kewpie mayo incorporates yolks and yolks alone for a yellow color, an almost custardy texture, and distinctly rich and fatty mouthfeel. The egg yolks—precisely four in every 500-gram squeeze bottle—are an important source of amino acids that give Kewpie its signature savory taste and, to state the obvious, egg-forward taste.

“To balance out all that fatty goodness, Kewpie has the perfect amount of acid. While Hellmann’s and other American brands use sharp and pungent distilled white vinegar, Kewpie relies on a blend of vinegar—rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and distilled vinegar, for example—for added complexity, tang, and natural sweetness.”Sounds good! I found this at CostPlus World Market which carried both the made in the U.S. and Japan versions. According to Bon Appetit, the one from Japan is best. Comes in a funky soft, squishy bottle so that you can squeeze out every last drop.

Next up … Furikake. I had no idea what that was, but they carry it at Trader Joe’s. Japanese multi-purpose seasoning made with white and black sesame seeds, nori (black seaweed), salt and kelp powder. As you can probably tell by now, sadly we have not eaten much Japanese cuisine, so we need to expand our food horizons.
While perusing the aisle at CostPlus, I also picked up a couple of bottles of Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce, both the original and Hot and Spicy. Upon arriving home, we opened up the Hot and Spicy and WOW! This is GREAT! How have we NOT tasted this before? So good I used it to glaze a steak for dinner that night. Dipping sauce? Marinade? Drink straight out of the bottle? Ok maybe not, but it is now a house staple. AND, I used it as a dipping sauce for this recipe.

The recipe uses imitation crab but you can substitute with fresh or canned or switch it up with equal amounts cooked or canned salmon or tuna (drained). Whatever you prefer and have on hand.

My only comment is that I thought it needed a little more flavor and definitely the Bachan helped (some soy sauce with wasabi would be good, too). Also, it is so rich I would not want to eat it as a main course, but I definitely see it as an appetizer with build your own sides, sort of like a taco bar… nori sheets (which we used), diced avocado, thinly sliced scallions or Persian cucumbers, Bachan’s or Yum Yum sauce or some more sriracha mayonnaise.

Oishii desu! 美味しい です

Ingredients

1 ½ cups sushi rice
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup Furikake seasoning
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound imitation crab (thawed if frozen), finely chopped
½ cup plus 1/3 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
Sriracha
Toasted sesame oil

Topping Ideas: Thinly sliced Persian cucumbers, scallions, diced avocado, nori sheets cut into 3-inch squares, Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce, YumYum sauce, wasabi.

Directions

Rinse the rice in a colander with cold water until the water runs clear so the rice will be sticky not gummy. Cook according to package directions.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9×13 oven safe casserole or baking dish with sesame oil.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan over low heat, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved. Transfer the cooked rice to a large mixing bowl, pour the vinegar mixture over the top and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, mix the chopped crab with cream cheese and mayo until smooth.
Make the Sriracha mayo: In a small bowl combine 1/3 cup Kewpie with 1-2 tablespoons of Sriracha depending on your heat tolerance. Transfer to a small, plastic bag and snip the corner to pipe onto the casserole.

Transfer the rice to the prepared casserole dish and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle with half the furikake seasoning. Layer the crab mixture on top of the rice and sprinkle with the remaining furikake. Pipe the Sriracha mayo over the top.

Bake uncovered until heated through and the top begins to brown and bubble, 15 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Cut into small squares and serve on the nori sheets with your choice of toppings as noted above.

Serves 6 (generous main course servings)

Sushi Bake recipe lightly adapted from NYT Cooking.

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