“Sushi Bake”
Sushi from the oven – you have never eaten the Japanese dish like this
Shift work: The baked sushi is a kind of casserole.
© Hubertus Schüler / BJVV
Forget everything you know about sushi. Because from now on, the rice dish is no longer cold, but steaming warm on the plate. TV chef Alex Wahi shows how the sushi-bake trend from the Philippines can be made vegetarian.
Sushi Bake is the destruction of sushi as you know it. Instead of being rolled and cold, the sushi is layered and warm on the plate – as a kind of sushi casserole from the oven. For “Wahi – sweet, sour, salty, hot: The cookbook”, TV chef Alex Wahi has embraced the trend and created a “chill-out baked sushi”.
This sushi variant is not fried, but baked in the oven, he writes. “The basis is sushi rice, for example with a layer of sesame, nori leaves, cream cheese and, depending on your taste, tofu, fish or surimi. The topping consists of mayonnaise and hot sauces. A sushi variant without raw fish and without complicated rolling. “
Chill-Out Baked Sushi à la Alex Wahi
ingredients
For the rice layer
250 g sushi rice (short grain rice)
salt
50 ml rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of sugar
vegetable oil for greasing
For the tofu layer
1 clove of garlic
150 g plain tofu
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp white sesame seeds
salt
black pepper from the mill
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chilli sauce (finished product)
1 tbsp mayonnaise (80% fat)
4 sheets of nori
preparation
Preparation time 15 minutes plus 40 minutes rest time, approx. 15 minutes cooking time and 10 minutes baking time
For 2 people
- For the rice layer, place the sushi rice in a bowl, cover with cold water and stir until the water is cloudy. Drain and repeat the process about three times until the water runs clear. Cover the rice again with fresh water and let it swell for 30 minutes.
- Drain the rice, place in a saucepan with 350 ml water and a little salt, bring to the boil and simmer covered over low heat for about 15 minutes. Turn off the stove, put the lid on at an angle to allow the steam to escape and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
- Place the rice vinegar in a small saucepan with the sugar and a pinch of salt and heat gently until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
- Pour the rice into a bowl, drizzle over the vinegar mixture, fluff up carefully and leave to cool.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C.
- For the tofu layer, peel and finely chop the garlic clove and cut the tofu into small cubes. Heat the olive oil in a pan, sauté the garlic and tofu for 2-3 minutes, turning occasionally, sprinkle with sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the rice in one layer in a rather small casserole dish greased with vegetable oil, layer the tofu on top and bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Drizzle with soy and chili sauce, spread mayonnaise on top and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, then spread on the nori sheets, roll up loosely and enjoy. – Alternatively, cut the nori sheets into pieces, place the filling on top and garnish with thin strips of nori.
Tips from Alex Wahi
Do not put the sushi rice in the fridge to cool down, otherwise it will harden. Alternatively, rinse the sushi rice under running water until it runs clear. However, the water consumption is then higher. The filling can be varied as you like and prepared with fish, cream cheese, roast beef or vegan.
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