This is a very simple and quick one dish meal to prepare provided you stock up the ingredients in your fridge like I do. I almost always have ikura in the fridge, and I recently ordered 2 packets of Negitoro from Zairyo.sg, so when I was lazy to cook I have something to make for a quick meal.
Negitoro is essentially sashimi grade tuna made from the scrapings and odds and ends around the bones, usually around the belly area, with added spring onions. It is very affordable and it tastes really good. I really love it. One time I went to a restaurant and ate a negitoro gunkan, and found that there was something special about the taste, it was extra creamy. It was then that I realised they had added in mayonaise. So that is how I make mine, with added mayo. I am not sure if this makes it ‘less authentic’ but I love it so that’s how I eat it. Recipe here is for just 1 person with a big appetite.
Ingredients:
- 75 grams sashimi-grade negitoro (this is about half the pack of what is pictured)
- 1/2 tablespoon of Japanese mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon of Japanese soya sauce
- 2.5 tablespoons of chopped spring onions
- 1 heaped rice bowl of cooked Japanese rice
- Sushi vinegar (you can buy ready-made ones from the supermarkets, I make my own using Harumi’s recipe from her cookbook
- Ikura – liberal amounts
Instructions:
Put the negitoro in a bowl, squeeze in the mayonnaise. This is what I put in as estimated half a tablespoon. You can add more if you prefer it to be more creamy but I feel it might take away from the taste of the fish.
Then add in all the rest of the ingredients, but reserve half a tablespoon of the spring onions for final garnish.
Mix it well with a fork, you should get something that looks like this. Set aside.
Make the sushi rice by adding the sushi vinegar to the rice, I do it when the rice is hot and I blow it as I fold it in. If making for guests, it might be prudent to use a fan or just leave it to cool a little before adding in the vinegar. For a heaped rice bowl of rice, I usually add 1- 1.5 tablespoons, but follow the instructions on the bottle if you bought a commercial one. I go by my own sense of taste. Once done, press it into the bowl lightly to create a flat surface for toppings (sorry I forgot to take a picture).
Lay the negitoro on the top in a circle (or anyway you desire).
Liberally top with ikura, then sprinkle the last bits of spring onion on top of the negitoro for a better look. Enjoy. You can have some wasabi with it, I usually just eat it like this, scooping up rice with ikura and negitoro for each mouthful. Occassionally, I pick up lumps and wrap them in seaweed too. Oiishi!
When The Cat Lady Eats. 