Ehōmaki

Ingredients

• 1⅛ lbsushi ricecooked slightly firm, about 2-3 go uncooked
• ¼ cupVinegarfor the sushi vinegar
• 2 tbspsugarfor the sushi vinegar and the simmered fillings
• 1½ tspsaltfor the sushi vinegar
• 4noriwhole toasted sheets
• 6Dried shiitake mushroomsrehydrate, use soaking liquid for the broth, cut into strips
• ½ ozKanpyo (dried gourd strips)soak, rub with salt, pre-boil, then simmer
• 2⅛ ozcarrotcut into sticks, simmered along
• 4Eggfried into a thick omelette, cut into bars
• 1cucumbercut lengthwise into sticks, gives the roll structure
• 4crab sticksused whole
• 2 tbspsoy saucefor the simmering liquid of the fillings
• 2 tbspmirinfor the simmering liquid of the fillings
• ½ tspdashifor the simmering liquid (optional)
• 1⅓ ozSakura denbu (pink fish flakes)for colour (optional)
• 5¼ ozGrilled eel (unagi kabayaki)store-bought, warmed, cut into strips (optional)
• 1¾ ozSpinachblanched in salted water and squeezed; mitsuba, snow peas or rapeseed greens work too (optional)
• 5¼ ozShrimppeeled, boiled 3 minutes (optional)
• 1Koya tofu (freeze-dried tofu)rehydrate, simmer in broth (optional)

Method

1. Cook the sushi rice a little firmer than usual. Stir the rice vinegar, sugar and salt together into sushi vinegar, warming it briefly if the sugar won't dissolve. Fold the vinegar into the hot rice with a cutting motion, then let the rice cool to body temperature.
2. Soak the dried shiitake in lukewarm water, keep the soaking liquid, and cut the mushrooms into strips. Soak the kanpyō, rub it with salt, rinse it and pre-boil it until soft.
3. Simmer the shiitake, kanpyō and carrot sticks — along with the rehydrated kōya tofu if you like — in the soaking liquid with sugar, mirin, soy sauce and, if you like, a little dashi powder, until the liquid has almost cooked away. Let everything cool.
4. Beat the eggs with sugar and salt and fry them into a thick omelette. Let it cool, then cut it into long bars.
5. If you're using spinach, blanch it in salted water and squeeze it well. Cut the cucumber lengthwise into sticks and have the crab sticks ready, so that all the fillings lie in front of you in roll length.
6. Lay a sheet of nori shiny side down on the bamboo mat and spread the sushi rice evenly over it, leaving about 2 cm clear along the top edge and about 1 cm at the near edge.
7. Lay the fillings side by side as a band across the rice, a little below the middle. Roll up from the near side in one movement with the mat, holding the filling in place with your fingers and firming the roll gently rather than pressing it.
8. Rest the roll seam side down for 2 to 5 minutes. Then serve it whole — or cut it into slices with a damp knife.

Tips and variations

The filling is yours to choose: a seafood version with boiled shrimp and sakura denbu instead of the simmered vegetables, an Osaka version with store-bought grilled eel and snow peas, or a sashimi version with raw squid, salmon, shiso, takuan and sesame on halved nori sheets. For a vegan roll, skip the egg and fish and use soy mince soboro, simmered shiitake, cucumber, rapeseed blossoms and pickled ginger. Fresh shiitake work too — in that case build the simmering liquid with concentrated dashi soy sauce; instead of cucumber, you can also roll in blanched spinach. With no bamboo mat, roll with cling film: the roll stays wrapped for slicing and eating and holds together better. For Setsubun, serve the rolls uncut and give everyone their own to hold.