Ingredients Print

Check off ingredients as you go

Serves 4

• Cooking the rice see the basic recipe
• 300 g (1½ cups) short-grain sushi rice
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 420 ml (1¾ cups) water
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the filling

• 2 fresh salmon fillets, skinless and boneless
• 1-2 avocados (depending on size), cut into thin slices
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
• 2 sheets nori seaweed
• 1 pinch black sesame seeds
• a little lemon juice
• ponzu sauce (or soy sauce)
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce (or dried ground red chili)
• 1 handful fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves, chopped
• 1 handful sprouts such as alfalfa (for decoration)
• 1 sprig scallion (green onion), chopped (if you don’t have sprouts)

If you change the number of serving, consider adjusting cooking times!

🍣 🥢 For more sushi ideas, I wrote an article on sushi variations that I invite you to check out.

Preparing the sushi rice

If you want to adjust the quantity, all you need to know is the classic ratio: 1 volume of rice to 1.3 times that volume of water. If you’re using glasses, for example, 1 glass of rice to 1 + 1/3 glasses of water.

1. Rinse the rice well until the water runs clear (at least 4 times). Put the rice and water in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil, stir once, then lower to medium heat and cook for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes without lifting the lid.

2. While the rice rests, put the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Bring quickly to a boil to dissolve everything.

3. Transfer the rice to a large bowl and pour in the still-warm vinegar, stirring gently to season the rice. Let it cool to room temperature (never in the fridge), covered with a kitchen towel so it doesn’t dry out.

Preparing the filling

4. In a small bowl, combine the Sriracha sauce and the ponzu sauce. Add the salmon cut into cubes and a little chopped cilantro, and let it marinate.

Thinly slice the cucumber.

Cut the avocado into thin slices and sprinkle with a little lemon juice so it doesn’t brown.

Assembling the sushi cake

It’s important to pack the layers down well to get a nice result and easy unmolding.

5. Cut a sheet of nori to the diameter of your ring mold or cake pan and place it in the bottom. Add a thin layer of rice (about 1/3). Cover with avocado slices, add some of the salmon and a little cilantro. Repeat, replacing the avocado with cucumber.

6. Finish with the last 1/3 of the rice, then decorate however you like, with, for example, cubes or slices of salmon, black sesame seeds, sprouts, thin rounds of cucumber, avocado slices rolled into flowers, chopped cilantro, sprouts or chopped scallion.

Tips

If you don’t have a ring mold, you can use a small cake pan lined with plastic wrap. Just let it set in the fridge for about ten minutes, then unmold it gently (this is what I often do).

If you have a slightly syrupy teriyaki sauce, you can drizzle it over your sushi cake just before serving. It looks beautiful.