Chirashizushi

When we were in Madison, WI this summer, we had a wonderful meal at Kushi Bar, a Japanese-inspired restaurant that served small bites, delicious cocktails and wonderful food. I loved what they called an inari rice bowl: delicious sushi rice studded with bits of inari, vegetables and other goodies. Inari are little packets of fried tofu which are usually stuffed with rice. They are sweet and savory at the same time, my favorite flavor combination. So I could eat them by the plate full.

After seeing several references to this idea of a sushi 'salad,' including in the new Moosewood cookbook, I learned this rice bowl is a common Japanese meal and perhaps the simplest version of sushi as it requires no rolling. In Japanese it is called, chirashizushi, which literally means, 'scattered sushi.' You can top the sushi rice with any manner of vegetable, tofu and condiments, but since inari is one of my favorite things to eat, I used that, broccoli, finely shredded carrot, toasted sesame seeds and nori. All of the delicious flavors of sushi in a bowl!

Recipe soon!