Recipes of the Realms

Ingredients:

• 3 cups (570 g) sushi rice
• 2 cups (480 ml) water
• 1/2 lb (230 g) fresh salmon
• Dried seaweed sheets (strips, not full sheets)
• Sea salt
• Furikake, if desired

Steps:

Choosing your salmon:

Choose a cut from a fresh Pacific caught fish. Atlantic salmon is almost always farmed, and the fish are often kept in pens and raised on a low nutrient feed that affects the taste. Check the tail of the piece — if the salmon has been farmed, the fins will have nibbles and bite marks. For this recipe you can use a thin cut of sockeye tail.

1. Season the salmon with pepper and salt, then place in the oven on a bed of aluminum foil. Set the broiler to LOW, then cook for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the salmon appears light pink and easily separates. Set aside and let it cool completely.
2. In a medium sized pot, heat water on HIGH until it begins to boil. Stir in sushi rice, then reduce the heat to MEDIUM. Cover with a well fitting lid and let the water continue to simmer, removing rice from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
3. Once some of the water has been absorbed (about two minutes), stir and reduce the heat to LOW and return the pot lid, cooking the rice until it is light and fluffy.
4. Using a one cup dry measuring cup, scoop out a ball of hot cooked rice, and place your in your hands. Then, using quick movements and applying light pressure, roll into the rough semi-firm shape of a sphere.
5. Use a thumb to create an indentation in the center and place a grape-sized piece of salmon inside. Close over the hole with surrounding rice then continue to pack firmly into a ball.
6. When fully formed into shape, attach a strip of seaweed to bottom and let cool before serving.

Note on working with sushi rice:

Sushi rice needs to be very hot to achieve the stickiness needed for molding. Prepare a water bath to cool your hands in between each rice ball. Fill your sink with water and place a salt shaker nearby. Before each ball, wet your hands in the bath, then salt them.