Sushi rice dish boasts rainbow of flavors

Sadao Takahashi takes his rice seriously.

To start, this discerning cook buys the highest quality rice he can get his hands on — yumepiriki, a pricey, white short-grain rice grown in Hokkaido that’s sold at the Rice Factory in Kakaa­ko. Next, he washes it in a colander three times, drains it and lets it sit for 20 minutes to dry before placing it in his special rice cooker.

He fills the pot with less water than normally called for, adds a piece of dashi konbu, a top-quality dried seaweed, and sets the cooker on medium. It’s a special machine he bought in Japan that delivers just the right texture for one of his signature dishes — bara sushi.

For all of Takahashi’s exacting care, bara sushi is not an unapproachable dish. Your inexpensive rice cooker will work just fine.

TAKAHASHI, a retired sales manager for General Motors in Tokyo and a Hawaii resident for 31 years, often spends time cooking for potluck dinners that he and his wife, attorney Christine Kubota, attend. Kubota is chairwoman of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii board.

Also called gomoku sushi or chirashi sushi, bara sushi starts with rice seasoned with sushi su (sushi vinegar). It is sweet, but not too much, and the overall flavor is subtle. To the seasoned rice, a variety of ingredients are scattered or tossed. Takahashi’s version is a burst of color, textures and flavors, and it is a popular party platter.

Bara sushi is not a complicated dish, but there are many steps to prepare each part, and you will likely need to take a trip to a Japanese grocery store for some of the specialty ingredients.

Takahashi’s version, which he learned from his sister Reiko, calls for thick, dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in water for two days. These are simmered in a tasty mix of mirin, sake, soy sauce and the soaked- mushroom liquid. Fresh lotus root is sliced paper-thin, then cut into bite-sized pieces and quickly pickled in flavored rice vinegar. The crunchy pieces are refreshing and make for a pleasant contrast to the texture of the rice.

A beautiful, round, wooden sushi mixing platter is coated with two tablespoons of sushi su, then the hot cooked rice is added. Takahashi prefers to add more vinegar flavoring in a powdered form called sushinoko. He has found a short cut to chopping and cooking more vegetables for this dish by adding a packaged sushi mix called sushi taro, which includes flavored bamboo shoots, kampyo (gourd), mushrooms, gobo (burdock) and carrots.

This mix is added to the rice, then he gently combines the cooked mushroom and lotus root.

“Be careful when you mix the rice so you don’t smash the grains,” he cautions. “Make a cutting motion.”

THERE ARE also eggs, and Takahashi demonstrated two ways to make them. For beginning cooks, the easier method is to scramble the eggs using four chopsticks, stirring continuously until the eggs cook into small balls. A trickier way involves a specialized, rectangular Japanese tamago (egg) pan, in which the scrambled eggs are cooked in thin sheets that are finely sliced, producing a beautiful topping for the platter.

Green peas, kizami shoga (red pickled ginger strips) and thin slivers of roasted seaweed finish the dish in a wave of color.

Sometimes Takahashi serves the rice another way — stuffed in aburage, the preseasoned fried and marinated tofu pouches used for cone sushi.

While Takahashi prefers not to add “fishy” tastes to his bara sushi, items such as raw fish, crab and other seafood are commonly used. On Girls Day, bara sushi with ikura (salmon roe) and crab is often served. Other popular toppings: green beans, gobo (burdock) and cucumber.

However he delivers his bara sushi, this cook appreciates good quality white rice. And he’s struck by the irony of how people like to eat rice today.

“Now people think it is interesting to have beans, millet and other grains mixed with white rice,” he said. “When we were growing up, we only had mixed grains, as rice was too hard to get. Eating all white rice is such a treat.”

SADAO TAKAHASHI’S BARA SUSHI

• 3 cups high-quality Japanese short-grain white rice
• 1 large piece dashi konbu (dried seaweed), rinsed
• 3 large dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1/2 cup water for a day or two, until soft
• 1 tablespoon sake
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 cup fresh, uncooked lotus root
• 5 tablespoons sushi su (sushi vinegar), divided
• 3 large eggs
• 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 3 tablespoons sushinoko (powdered sushi vinegar), or substitute 1 tablespoon sushi su
• 2 packets of Nagatani brand sushi taro (precooked sushi vegetable mix; see note)
• 2 tablespoons kizami shoga (red pickled ginger), drained
• 2 tablespoons yaki nori (finely cut roasted seaweed, from taro mix)

Wash rice in strainer three times, then place in sink and let dry 20 minutes. Place in rice cooker and add just under 3 rice cups water. Place konbu on top and cook. Use medium setting if available.

Remove stems from mushrooms and cut tops into 1/4-inch pieces. In small pan over medium heat, place mushrooms with soaking liquid, sake, mirin and soy sauce; simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until mushrooms are soft. Set aside.

Peel and cut lotus root into very thin slices, then into 1/2-by-1/2-inch pieces, and place in small bowl. Add 3 tablespoons sushi su; set aside.

Beat 3 eggs and make either the fancier kinshi tamago style (in strips) or the simpler tamago style (scrambled).

>> For kinshi tamago style: Pour 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a rectangular tamago pan (or use a standard nonstick skillet). Over medium heat, cook 1/3 of eggs for a few minutes, then flip over and cook 1 more minute. Cool on a plate. Repeat until all egg is cooked. Slice into thin strips. Set aside.

>> For tamago style: In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and over medium, add eggs and stir with four chopsticks for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir 2 minutes, then return to heat and stir 2 to 3 minutes more. Eggs should be in small pieces. Set aside.

In small pot, boil 1 cup water with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add peas and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Coat bottom of wooden sushi mixing platter or large platter with 2 tablespoons sushi su. Remove rice from cooker and discard seaweed. Arrange in platter. Add sushinoko and sushi taro (without the included yaki nori). Using cutting motions, incorporate without smashing rice.

Drain and add mushrooms and lotus root. Combine.

Top rice with egg, peas, kizami shoga and yaki nori. Serves 10 to 12 as a side dish.

>> Variations: Add blanched and sliced green beans, cooked and shredded gobo (burdock), prepared unagi (fresh-water eel), fresh tuna, salmon, cucumber, avocado, shrimp, ikura, crab and fish cake.

>> Note: The sushi taro set includes 2 packages of the vegetable mixture and 2 packages of yaki nori — enough for 3 cups of rice.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on 10 servings): 220 calories, 4.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 55 mg cholesterol, 600 mg sodium, 47 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 6 g protein.

Lynette Lo Tom, author of “The Chinese Kitchen,” is fascinated by old-fashioned foods. Contact her at 275-3004 or via instagram at @brightlightcookery. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.