CHIRASHI-SUSHI

Today I learned something new about this favorite of mine, an item I must have ordered hundreds of times in Japanese restaurants without really knowing the etiology behind it.

Do you know the word Chirashi means 'scattered'? It is a very graphic description of how this dish, or bowl, is plated. It gives one the feeling of a disorganized pizza with toppings all over the place when in fact there is a disciplined approach to it.  As always we start with the Sumeshi, next comes the vegetables and we had Shiitake & Kampyo, Carrots, Renkon (lotus roots) all cooked separately with varying sauces to yield different textures. For the Sakana or seafood, we had tuna, salmon, and a white fish but other options are wide open including shrimp, sea urchin, abalone, salmon roe, octopus and other exotics if one wish. To finish we used sesame seed, julienne of Nori, and Kin-Shi Tomago or shredded egg omelette as garnish.  What a colorful and mouthwatering presentation!

All this time I was blissfully ignorant about Chirashi-Sushi, thinking it is no more than a bowl of rice with seafood on it, or Kaisen Don, until today. BTW it was served on a plate today, family style, we just dug in and that I did, with fervor. I cannot wait to prepare, or rather improvise, a TKT version when I am home.