Chirashi
The world of sushi is very diverse. Sushi chefs are very attentive to details; their food demands precision and perfection. Making a plate of sushi rolls, nigiri, and gunkanmaki is time consuming. Hence, sometimes they need a simpler dish which does not require a lot of time. From this concept, the Chirashi sushi bowl was born. The word Chirashi stands for “scattered” and can be referred to as scattered fish. It was originated in the 18th century along with the maki rolls.
This dish is very easy to make because you do not need to concern yourself with making perfect sized sushi rolls to serve. The Chirashi sushi can be served in any big bowl. Basically, you fill half the bowl with vinegar rice and top it off with pieces of raw fish or sashimi. You can even add bits of vegetable or fish roe for added aesthetics. The scattering of the fish is how this dish called named Chirashi. Moreover, it has been said that the Japanese did not want to throw away leftover fish that did not make it as a nigiri. This dish also served as a purpose to use up the leftover fish.
Making this dish considerably easier than making other sushi dishes. But you do have to get the correct taste when it comes to this sushi bowl. Each and every grain of sushi rice has to be seasoned perfectly. The rice has to have both a sweet and tangy flavor to it. The vinegar adds tanginess to the rice. You can even add sesame seeds for added flavor and texture. Finally, you layer the sushi rice with your own choice of fish.
Different Types of Chirashi Bowls
The Japanese created two types of Chirashi sushi. The first one is the regular Chirashi sushi bowl, which you will find in your nearby Japanese restaurants. This type of Chirashi sushi is topped with a decent amount of sashimi and usually cheaper than trying to order the same amount of fish as nigiri or sashimi. The second type is the bara-Chirashi. The bara-Chirashi is a really simple sushi rice dish and does not involve a lot of fish. Every family in Japan has its own version of this sushi dish.
The bara-Chirashi came out during the Edo period which was between the 16th and 18th century. This dish was made by the common people during special occasions. During that period, the government had a strict control about the usage of fancy sashimi by commoners in the sense that commoner cannot eat what upper-class people were eating. The common people had created a trick; they would hide pieces of fish under the thick layer of rice. When they were ready to eat, they would simply flip the bowl over and dig into the fish first. The fish used in that period was mostly cooked shrimp and mackerel. This is because refrigerators did not exist back then and required non-raw food that doesn’t spoil easily. These two types of fish would last longer than any one type of fish, which was why they were used. The addition of raw fish came later and the modern day Chirashi was born.
Chirashi Sushi Bowl as Handcrafted Art
Some restaurants will throw a bunch of fish over rice in a bowl and call it Chirashi. These are usually restaurants that are either really busy or are cheaper, fast-food sushi restaurants. If you go to higher-end sushi restaurants, you can tell the difference in quality. Many of these restaurants pride their Chirashi and call it handcraft art. What makes them so much more different? The chef will actually pay attention to how the fish was cut and placed in the bowl. Instead of using scraps of thin sashimi, real sashimi would be used and shaped particularly to fit the bowl’s shape. If the bowl is rounded, the fish would be fit in a circle. If the bowl is squared, the fish will be fit in a symmetric way.
Sushi chefs can take it one more step and prop up the fish to make a 3D appeal by stacking rice underneath the fish in a certain way. They can also use ginger or daikon. Moreover, the color of the fish can be placed in a contrasting order. Red tuna can be placed next to super white tuna; Orange salmon can be placed next to grayed mackerel.