MY FAVE RECIPE NO.1 | SUSHI BAKE

A few weeks ago, I happened to make this for dinner after hearing from my sister + cousin how easy and delicious it is. I already love sushi, so I knew that it would be such a great recipe to add to my collection if I ever craved for sushi at home. Many have asked me for the recipe, so I'm happy to finally post this and would love for you to leave a comment if you do make it and let me know how it turned out!

Now, it's not your typical sushi where you roll it up and cut into pieces, but I'm sure you could if you felt like being creative and inspired to do so. As for me, this layered dish really gives the flexibility and allows for more creative possibilities beyond imitation crab or shrimp which this recipe calls for. You could definitely add your own twist to it, like shredded cooked tuna or salmon, avocado, etc. and mix and match to come up with your own. But for right now, I am posting the basic recipe which still rocks in my opinion. I actually had to make a separate batch that didn't include shrimp because my poor hubby is allergic to shellfish, but I must say that I personally love it with shrimp because it does add so much more flavor to it.:)

Just a side note, I did google Sushi Bake recipes on the web and only found a few good ones like here and here. However, I did improvise on measurements and eye balled some of the ingredients to my judgement and took note of it. Also added Siracha Hot Chili Sauce per my cousin's suggestion. Surprisingly, it didn't make this too spicy unless you really want it to be, but remember, a little goes a long way. Either way, I'm not sure if you could go wrong with the amount of each ingredient you use, except when making sushi rice which does require exact measurements, otherwise it will end up too mushy or too acidic.

Speaking of making sushi rice, I thought it would be difficult, but actually it isn't so hard. Just remember that it DOES make a difference with the type of rice you use. I was going to use long-grain jasmine since that was what I already had on hand, but found that it is best to not substitute the rice for anything else but Sushi grade rice--short, medium, or variety, which is what I used. You will be so glad you did because it makes up for a great foundation for the whole dish, giving it a really nice texture and flavor as it absorbs the flavors of the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt solution. YUM!


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Left to Right: Short/Med/Variety Calrose Rice, Rice Vinegar, Sour Cream,
Mayonnaise, Shrimp, Imitation Crab, Siracha Hot Chili Sauce,
Furikake Rice Seasoning, Roasted Seaweed

YUMMY SUSHI BAKE

3 cups sushi rice (See instructions below)
1 pkg imitation crab, chopped
1 pkg cooked frozen shrimp, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
3-4 dashes of Siracha (hot chili sauce)
2 jars Furikake Seasoning
2-3 pkgs Sushi Nori (roasted seaweed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook sushi rice and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except Furikake Seasoning and seaweed, until thoroughly combined. You may add more mayo + sour cream if you like it a little more creamier and if you don't mind the extra calories. Then in a 13x9 dish, spread the sushi rice evenly over the bottom of the baking dish. Layer the mixture over the rice evenly as well. Sprinkle the Furikake seasoning generously over the entire top layer. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until nice and hot. Cut up the roasted seaweed into squares. Serve by scooping the sushi bake onto the individual roasted seaweed and enjoy!

SUSHI RICE

3 cups of cooked rice
1/3 cup of rice vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Cook rice in rice cooker or pot according to the package directions. In the meantime, heat up rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan until it all dissolves, just a few minutes. Turn off heat. Now this next step is very important because it is really critical to making great sushi rice. You will need a wooden bowl and must not use a metal bowl or the vinegar will react with the metal. Scoop 3 cups of rice into the wooden bowl and drizzle the vinegar solution over the rice. Mix and fold rice to combine it all together and if you have an extra hand, have someone fan the rice while you're mixing it to give it a nice shiny appearance. Continue to mix until all the vinegar has been absorbed.

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There you go!! I am now getting hungry and drooling while typing this. Hopefully, yours will turn out just as yummy as it did for me and my family. This would also be a great potluck dish and will definitely please a crowd which obviously did for my household because it was gone within minutes!

I hope to bring you more of my family favorite recipes on my blog throughout this year, so be sure to sign up for my newsletter (still in the works), join me on facebook, or follow me on twitter.

Happy eating!