SPICY SALMON MINI HAND ROLLS

SPICY SALMON MINI HAND ROLLS

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Let me cut to the chase with this one.  Because along with what has officially come as the “holiday/party season”, also came a bubbling frenzy of ideas that harasses my otherwise unambitious nature to just relax through it all.  I mean really, really self-tormenting thoughts, such as the fixation on the idea of a Christmas goose (goose!… I must’ve lost my mind.), the racing finger-snapping sounds that repeats “hors d’oeuvre, hors d’oeuvre, hors d’oeuvre!” and then “cookies, cookies, cookies!”, plus a reignited and very unhealthy obsession to tackle the ever–evil, ever-defiant croissant dough which, let’s not kid ourselves, will end in tears (I wonder where that came from…).  All in all I mean, I’m busy.

But then, speaking of hors d’oeuvre…

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Sushi, when you think about it, in its neat and dainty individual-ness and light refreshing taste, is really perfect horderves in the making.  However, I don’t know of any normal human beings with real lives who push the idea of making-sushi-at-home beyond just an idea, and frankly, I don’t blame them.  They just didn’t know that even the Japanese themselves needed to figure out a way to cheat around sushi, one that requires minimal skills and virtually zero compromise on flavours.  Most fabulous of it all, they even gave it a legitimate name.  Temaki.

In another word, hand roll, is quitter’s sushi.

Seriously, if you can manage to roll a piece of paper you can make temaki, better yet, mini temaki.  Despite the superficial gushing cuteness, they deliver real grown-up taste with creaminess from unsalted butter and creme fraiche, flavours from smoked salmon and sesame oil, plus kicks from spicy sirracha, minced shallots and wasabi creme fraiche.  All the components can be made hours ahead, which is the secret to looking effortlessly fabulous as a host to any party.  But judging from the recipe-testing I had to conduct for you guys on an event-less weekday (what a sacrifice), these mini babies can make my, or yours, ordinary DVD-night quite partied-up as well.

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Makes:  2 dozen mini hand rolls

Ingredients:

  • Spicy salmon tartare:
    • 14 oz (400 grams) of sushi-grade, skinless/boneless salmon fillet
    • 2 tbsp of unsalted butter, soften
    • 2 tbsp of sirracha sauce
    • 1 1/2 tbsp (30 grams) of creme fraiche
    • 1 1/2 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
    • 1 tsp of toasted sesame seeds
    • 1 small shallots, finely minced
    • 3.5 oz (100 grams) of smoked salmon, broken into small pieces
    • Sea salt to taste
  • Wasabi creme fraiche:
    • 3 tbsp of finely diced chives
    • 2 tbsp of creme fraiche
    • 1/2 tsp of wasabi paste
  • Sushi rice:
    • 17.6 oz (500 grams) of cooked sushi rice (roughly 2 cups of rice before cooking)
    • 1/4 cup of sushi vinegar
  • To assemble:
    • 6 ~ 7 sheets of nori/Japanese seaweed
    • Toasted black sesame, and chili flakes to sprinkle

To make the spicy salmon tartare:  Divide the salmon into 2 equal portions.  Mince 1 portion extremely fine to almost paste-like consistency, and finely dice the other portion into a-bit-smaller-than-pea sizes.  Set aside.  Use a spatula to mash the unsalted butter inside a large bowl until it resembles mayonnaise.  Then add the 1st portion of the salmon (finely minced/paste), 1 tbsp of sirracha, 1 tbsp of creme fraiche and 1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil into the same bowl with the butter, and mix well to combine.  Now add the 2nd portion of the salmon (diced), toasted sesame seeds, minced shallots, smoked salmon, plus 1 tbsp of sirracha, 1/2 tbsp of creme fraiche and 1/2 tbsp of sesame oil.  Mix well to combine, then re-season with coarse sea salt to taste.

Plastic-wrap the bowl and chill in the fridge for 1 hour or until needed.

To make the sushi rice:  A general rule of thumb in cooking sushi rice is that however much you are preparing, the ratio of raw rice and water should be 1 (raw rice) : 1.1 (water) by VOLUME.  This is slightly drier than how you would typically cook rice, because the rice needs to further absorb the liquid from the sushi vinegar that’s gonna be added later.  So clean/rinse the rice and cook it according to your rice-cooker’s instruction with the ratio above.  Once done, take 17.6 oz (500 grams) of cooked rice, and gradually add 1/4 cup of sushi vinegar into the rice while fluffing it with a spatula.

Once completely incorporated, cover the rice with a damp towel at room-temperature (or turn off the rice-cooker and keep the rice inside the rice-cooker).

To make wasabi creme fraiche:  Mix finely diced chives, creme fraiche and wasabi paste until even.  Set aside.

To assemble the hand rolls:  Use a scissor to cut the nori sheets into 6″ x 2 1/2″ strips (15 cm x 6.5 cm).  Wet your hands with some water and press 1 tbsp of sushi rice into one end of the nori/seaweed strips.  Smear little bit of wasabi creme fraiche, and about 1 tsp of spicy salmon tartare on the rice, then roll the nori strips into a small cone.  Top the cone with more spicy salmon tartare, and sprinkle with some toasted black sesame and chili flakes.  Serve immediately.

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11 Comments
  • Belinda@themoonblushbaker

    12.10.2013at6:25 PM Reply

    Seriously yum! I would love to be a guest at your party Mandy!

  • Sophie

    12.11.2013at12:51 AM Reply

    Mandy, I love this! It’s been ages since we made sushi rolls at home; we are terrible at it, but find it so enjoyable. This is a much simpler version then rolling with the fussy mat, etc….. we have a couple holiday parties coming up at our place, these would do wonderfully on the table! Spicy salmon is always one of our favorites, too. Thanks :) You made them so beautiful!

  • Vivian

    12.11.2013at8:03 AM Reply

    Is there a substitute for creme fraiche? Thanks!

    • Mandy L.

      12.11.2013at2:23 PM Reply

      Vivian, yes you can use sour cream.

  • Dina

    12.11.2013at9:56 AM Reply

    these look delish!

  • Grace

    12.11.2013at8:32 PM Reply

    Mandy, this post couldn’t have been timed any better – I was just allocated ‘canape duty’ for a party next week and was wondering what to make! Sorted – thank you!
    Beautiful imagery. xx

  • Lokness @ The Missing Lokness

    12.13.2013at5:00 AM Reply

    Spicy salmon is so good! I love your wasabi creme fraiche. Spicy and creamy. Definitely need to try this.

  • Allison (Spontaneous Tomato)

    01.10.2014at10:03 AM Reply

    Just discovered your blog and I love everything about it, especially your photos, and especially this recipe! Temaki’s definitely way easier to make than other kinds of sushi, though I’d never though of it as “quitter’s sushi” before, haha. (I know it’s not technically sushi, but I’m curious what you would nickname sashimi then?)

    I guess I am one of those rare (?) people who used to make maki-zushi at home all the time for dinner parties (well, not *all* the time; ONLY for dinner parties, since that’s way too much work for an ordinary DVD night), because even though it all needs to be assembled that day– and preferably right before the party– at least it can be totally done in advance before anyone arrives. (Anything that needs doing after people arrive just stresses me out…) But serving mini temaki sushi as an appetizer and letting guests assemble the temaki themselves is pretty genius! As is your spicy salmon tartare. I am a sucker for anything raw-salmon since it’s so rich and buttery already, but mix it with butter, creme fraiche, and sriracha, too? YES.

    Thanks for all the inspiration! (Your photos in this post alone have made me sooooo incredibly hungry! And now I will be automatically disappointed in anything I make for dinner tonight that isn’t this.)

    • Mandy L.

      01.10.2014at5:33 PM Reply

      Allison, I applaud you for making your own sushi at home!! I would love to go to that dinner party of yours!

  • Susan

    01.16.2014at8:26 AM Reply

    Sounds delish! Kudos to you for giving substitutes for certain food items. Being a “newbie” at making these I don’t know what to substitute. Thanks!

  • Frida

    02.18.2014at7:57 AM Reply

    Looks so good :)
    I’m making these very soon!

    Hugs
    Frida, Denmark
    http://fridaspeach.wordpress.com

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