Hand-Pressed Sushi-Style Rice with Seared Salmon and Cucumber

Hand-pressed vinegar rice cradles seared salmon and cool cucumber, finished with wasabi and a strip of nori. It echoes Vinegar Rice at First Light, when Yohei folded sugar and salt into warm grains before dawn at Edo’s canal stalls.

Serves 2

Estimate for one serving

• 810 cal
• 14.4g protein
• 45g carbs
• 9.4g fat
• 4g fiber

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Ingredients

• 1 cup short-grain rice
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 10 oz salmon fillet
• 1 cucumber
• 1 tbsp wasabi paste
• 3 tbsp pickled ginger
• 4 nori sheets

Instructions

1. 1Cook the rinsed short-grain rice then mix rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and fold into the warm rice. Let cool until just handleable.
2. 2Pat the salmon dry, season lightly with salt, and sear in a hot nonstick skillet 2 minutes per side until just cooked through. Cool slightly then flake into large pieces.
3. 3Slice the cucumber into thin half-moons. Cut nori into 2-inch wide strips.
4. 4With damp hands press small oblong mounds of seasoned rice, place a smear of wasabi, a piece of salmon, and a cucumber slice on top then wrap with a nori strip. Serve with pickled ginger on the side.