Eat It On The Go: A Sushi Jar

Sushi Jar

There are few things I could eat forever, but sushi has to be one of them. If I had the time to make it every day, I would love to. This is a super-quick way of getting all the best bits but without the tricky and time-consuming rolling. Most large supermarkets have a great Asian foods section where you can find everything you need to make great sushi jars. I’ve used the California roll as an inspiration; however, using totally unauthentic smoked salmon. It tastes great and is far cheaper than sushi-grade salmon, as well as being readily available, so for me, what’s not to love?

Makes 1 x 700ml jar

Keeps for 3 days

Ingredients
150g sushi rice
200ml water
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp palm sugar or use brown sugar
? cucumber
1 carrot
? avocado
juice of – lime
smoked salmon or tofu (optional)
1 nori sheet
soy sauce, to taste
wasabi, to taste
pickled ginger, to taste
black sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Method
Thoroughly rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear, then place in a pan with the water and heat over a low heat. When bubbling, cover with a lid and leave for 6-8 minutes until the water has been absorbed. Mix the vinegar, salt and sugar together in a bowl until the salt and sugar have dissolved. (You can always pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds to help it along.) When the rice is done, using a wooden spoon, scrape the rice into a bowl and add the rice vinegar seasoning. Leave to cool at room temperature, then store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To make your sushi jar, chop the cucumber and carrot into matchsticks. Dice the avocado and toss in the lime juice to avoid discolouration. Get your protein ready, if using, and slice the nori sheet into bite-sized squares for easy eating.

Layer up! I start with a layer of nori bits and rice followed by a drizzle of soy sauce, a splodge of wasabi and some pickled ginger. Then I add a few bits of each vegetable and some lovely salmon. Throughout I sprinkle a few black sesame seeds and keep layering until I reach the top. You can, of course, finish with more wasabi and ginger, if you like. I finish with a few more layers of nori to keep it crisp.

Extracted from Jar Food: Recipes for on-the-go by Dominique Elo’se Alexander (Pavilion Books, approx €12). Photograph by Clare Winfield.