Chirashi is nothing more than a rich bowl of rice on which the inevitable raw fish are arranged, usually salmon, tuna, swordfish and eggs, to which are added elements such as cucumber, avocado, and whatever else you want. There are several variations, and if raw fish still creates some fear you can also use cooked fish. It is a complete meal that we can easily prepare at home, within everyone’s reach, since it is not necessary to roll up or follow any particular composition, but it will be enough to assemble the ingredients to our liking. To prepare this dish we will need sushi rice or otherwise a round grain rice, which will be boiled and then cooled, to subsequently mix it with the vinegar. We use ħall tar-ross, which is obtained by fermentation of rice, and has a more delicate and sweet taste that goes well with fish. If you can’t find it, you can use apple cider vinegar, to be diluted with a little water. The choice of rice is important for the success of the recipe and possibly also for the preparation of sushi and other Japanese recipes, since a small, rounded grain is needed, which does not fall apart during cooking, and which after this remains sticky, also facilitating chopstick operations. This will be followed by the addition of the fish, strictly fresh and blast chilled. In this context, the Ministeru tas-Saħħa has published guidelines to be able to consume raw fish safely, thus avoiding the risk of contracting parasites. Fish that must be eaten raw or marinated must be previously blast chilled, i.e. frozen at a temperature not exceeding -20 degrees for at least 24 hours in the blast chiller, or for at least 96 hours at -18 degrees in the home freezer (marked with three or more stars). We can finish our dish with avocado (which must be ripe, and therefore soft to the touch), cucumbers, chives, ginger and soy sauce.

Preparazzjoni

1

We rinse the rice with cold water, helping us with a bowl, repeating the operation until the water is transparent.

2

Boil the rice in plenty of water, leaving it on medium heat, for the cooking time indicated on the package.

3

In the meantime, prepare the reduction by putting the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan and cooking over low heat, until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

4

Once the rice is cooked, we will arrange it in a large bowl, to be able to spread it and let it cool. We add the vinegar reduction, mix and spread it to cool it to room temperature.

5

Once the rice has cooled, we can compose our bowls. We can decide whether to arrange the rice with all the ingredients on top, or mix everything. We can also decide according to our comfort what type of cut to use for fish and vegetables.

6

We cut the fish into thin strips or 1 cm cubes. We reduce cucumbers and carrots, previously washed and peeled, into julienne strips. Cut the avocado in half, cutting lengthwise, and rotating around the core. We remove the peel, and cut into thin slices. We arrange our ingredients on the rice. If we want to create flowers with fish, once cut into slices, just roll it up on itself.

7

The Chirashi rice is now ready to be enjoyed, and the perfect accompaniment will be with soy sauce and ginger.

8

ħażna

Consume immediately after preparation.

Varjanti

We can choose which type of fish to use, and whether to prefer it raw, or cooked, perhaps grilled. Generally we use tuna, salmon, swordfish, shrimp, to be enriched with vegetables such as cucumbers, carrots, celery, celeriac, lettuce.

Kurżità

We can accompany our chirashi with marinated ginger. By now in the supermarket you can really find any product, and we can buy it ginger in jar, but we can also prepare it at home. Just buy the fresh ginger root, remove the peel, and slice it into thin slices with a mandolin. Blanch the slices in hot water for a few minutes to soften them. Finally we put the previously drained slices to rest, in a marinade that we obtained by boiling water, rice vinegar, sugar and vinegar.