Sushi Cake (寿司ケーキ) is not typical Japanese food you find at Japanese restaurants at all. Before anything, it is not a dessert. Sushi Cake is Sushi Rice molded and decorated with fish and vegetables so it looks like a cake. It is very colorful and festive, and a great dish for a celebration of some sort. It looks a little complicated, but it is quite easy to make it at home. Actually, it’s much easier than Sushi rolls. Besides, you may not even be able to find it at any shops or restaurants, so you may have to make it if you would like to try this dish.
We’re not sure when or where Sushi Cake was created, but it was probably first made for kids’ parties such as Hinamatsuri, the girls’ festival on March 3rd. One of the main dishes for Hinamatsuri is Barazushi, colorful mixed sushi with cooked vegetables, and its decoration may be carried away to make into a “cake.” We also have more traditional sushi called “Oshizushi” that is sushi rice shaped in molds and packed well with fish. It wouldn’t be surprising that those ideas of sushi dishes inspired people to create Sushi Cake.
We used salmon and tuna Sashimi (raw fish), but you can use anything you like. Other fish such as red snapper and yellow tail work nicely too. If you are not keen on Sashimi, Barazushi can be used to make this too. Use Benishoga, red ginger, and green vegetables for colors. Sushi Cake doesn’t have to be round either. Use loaf cake molds or smaller shapes to make individual cakes. Just don’t forget to line the molds with plastic wrap to be able to unmold the rice easily.
Sushi Cake is perfect for parties, potluck or any kind of special occasions. Try this recipe, and you will surprise people with this unusual but tasty sushi dish!
Sushi Cake Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 recipe Kinshi Tamago
- 5-6 cups Sushi Rice
- salmon Sashimi sliced thinly
- 5 Shiso leaves cut thinly
- tuna Sashimi cut into 1/2″ cubes
- Ikura
- 5 snow peas blanched and halved
Instructions
- In a 7″ round cake pan, line with plastic wrap. Spread Kinshi Tamago on the bottom. Then spread on half of the Sushi Rice. Pack firmly.
- Place sliced salmon and Shiso leaves on the rice. Spread the rest of the rice over the salmon and pack well. Wrap the whole thing with plastic, and refrigerate for 15 minutes until set.
- Turn the cake out on a plate and remove the plastic wrap. Make flowers with salmon Sashimi pieces and place in the middle of the cake. Add Ikura in the center of flowers. Place the halved snow peas around the flowers (like leaves). Scatter tuna and Ikura over the cake.
Video
