Ice Cube Tray Sushi
If you're struggling with the difficulty and messiness of rolling and slicing sushi without it falling apart, follow this recipe to make sushi cubes with an ice cube tray. It is a creative and easy way to make adorable bite-sized sushi that is perfect for a lunch bento or snack.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
- Ice Cube Tray
- Plastic Food Wrap
Ingredients
- 1 cup sushi rice (raw)
- 1 cup water
- 3 tbsp sushi rice vinegar (See note 1)
- sushi toppings of your choice (I used shrimps, salmon, grilled eel, avocado, cucumber, and mango slices. You can also use tuna, crab meat, asparagus, cream cheese, tempura, etc.)
- 1 nori seaweed sheet
- soy sauce (For dipping)
Instructions
- Wash 1 cup of sushi rice in cold water for 3 to 4 times until the water runs from cloudy to clear. Add the rinsed rice and 1 cup of cold water (or add water according to the ratio recommended in the rice cooker instructions) to a rice cooker. Let the rice cooker run its program to cook the rice. Once the rice cooker switches off, let the rice sit in the rice cooker for 10-15 minutes to allow the steam to finish cooking the rice.
- Transfer the rice to a large mixing bowl, mix in 3 tbsps of sushi vinegar (See Note 1) and let it cool to room temperature. (Use a spatula or spoon to gently mix the rice with the sushi vinegar, being careful not to crush the grains.)
- Line an ice cube tray with plastic food wrap, gently push the plastic wrap into each compartment of the ice cube tray, making sure that it conforms to the shape of the tray. If one piece of plastic wrap is not sufficient to cover the entire tray, overlap it with another piece until the entire surface of the tray is fully covered.
- Place your chosen sushi topping at the bottom of each compartment in the ice cube tray, with the prettier side facing down. Add sushi rice on top of the toppings, pressing it down firmly.
- Cut a nori seaweed sheet into small squares that are roughly the same size as each compartment in the ice cube tray. Place one nori square on top of each compartment in the ice cube tray to cover the rice.
- Place a sushi serving plate upside down on top of the ice cube tray, hold the plate and the tray together firmly and quickly turn them over, so that the ice cube tray is now on top of the plate. Gently lift the ice cube tray off of the sushi. Remove the plastic wrap from the top of the sushi.
- To enjoy the sushi, use a pair of chopsticks to gently separate the individual pieces from each other. Then, pick up a piece of sushi with your chopsticks and, if desired, dip it lightly into soy sauce before taking a bite.