For some, cooking is an activity that’s long been present in their lives. Growing up with the craft, they naturally got used to working in the kitchen, while going through the process of improving their recipes. Meanwhile, others began a little later in their lives, with their curiosity piquing from perhaps a dish that everyone else seems to be trying out. Sushi Bake is just the type of irresistible recipe that’s gotten a lot of people trying on their chef hats.
And why not? This dish— essentially a deconstructed version of sushi, baked in a casserole— does not only involve simple steps, but is also exceptionally delicious. The recipe has swept over social media as a huge trend that everyone wants to try. And we applaud any dish that will get more people interested in brushing up on their cooking skills!
Sushi Bake is also a pretty good place to start because it involves steps in creating the base, the topping, and baking it all together. You’re able to practice a good variety of cooking steps in the kitchen. And best of all, this naturally makes a pretty big dish, and so it works for sharing with family and friends, or even just storing for later eating. But before we take on this Sushi Bake, how about getting to know the dish a bit better?
Where did Sushi Bake come from?
Considering how quickly this dish rose to popularity during the pandemic era, you might assume that it was created just recently. But some have cited early recipes of the “sushi casserole” from all the way back in 2011. Its recent fame in the Philippines, however, has been credited to a celebrity nail artist.
Mimi Qui Reyes was said to have begun sending her Sushi Bake to celebrities in April 2020. But she actually started cooking up the dish years before that. It only recently became the viral internet hit it has become today. Soon, a large number of netizens followed suit in recreating the magically delicious dish.
This often contains salmon, tobiko or fish roe, and of course, some vinegared rice. Once you’ve whipped up your tray of Sushi Bake, you have the option of eating it alone. After all, it’s plenty flavorful as it is without any other additions. But most of the time, people also enjoy it with some nori or seaweed, which they use to wrap up about a spoonful of Sushi Bake. Sounds tasty, right? Get right down to it by heading to the kitchen, and making some with me!
How to make Sushi Bake:
Assembling the rice for our Sushi Bake:
Our first step would be to preheat the oven to 400 °F. Then we can go ahead and prepare our base, which is our flavorful rice. Take 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Place these all in a bowl, which you will microwave for 15 seconds.
After you’ve finished microwaving, you should take the bowl out. Stir the mixture until the vinegar completely dilutes. Then put 4 cups of cooked white rice in a large bowl. Also add your vinegar mixture from earlier. Now gently toss these together until you’ve coated the rice completely with the vinegar mixture.
Then take out your baking dish, and start placing the rice mixture inside. Spread this evenly. Afterwards, lightly top this with some Furikake— less than 5 tablespoons’ worth.. Now we should assemble the rest of the toppings!
Creating the creamy topping and sriracha mayo topping:
To make some deliciously savory creamy topping, you should gather ½ cup of softened cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of sour cream in a bowl. You can also forego the latter if you prefer your Sushi Bake without sour cream. Also add ½ cup of Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise, 6 ounces of chopped Kani or imitation crab meat, and ¼ cup of diced up cucumber.
Then mix these all together thoroughly. Afterwards, you can just spread this over the rice. Top the rice as well with your remaining Furikake. Afterwards, we will bake it for 18 minutes in the oven.
While we’re waiting, we can go ahead and work on the sriracha mayo topping. Take 5 tablespoons of Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise, as well as 1 tablespoon of sriracha sauce, and put these in a container. Then mix them up. After this, transfer what you’ve made into a condiment squeeze bottle. Set this aside for later use.
If your 18 minutes have passed, you can take the Sushi Bake out of the oven. Top this with 3 tablespoons of fish roe or masago, and 1 avocado you’ve sliced up. You can also skip the masago if you don’t like the taste. Now drizzle your sriracha mayo topping on the sushi bake, and you’re ready to go!
Just slice a portion of your preferred size, and put this over a small Nori sheet. Then eat it together. How’s the taste? Make sure to leave your feedback and questions in the comments section below.
Sushi Bake
Ingredients
Rice ingredients:
- 4 cups cooked white rice
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cream topping:
- 1/2 cup cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons sour cream. optional
- 1/2 cup Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise
- 6 ounces Kani (imitation crab meat) chopped
- 1/4 cup cucumber diced into small pieces
Topping:
- 5 Tablespoons Furikake
- 3 tablespoons masago fish roe, optional
- 5 Tablespoons Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoons Sriracha sauce
- 1 avocado sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Combine rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Pop in the microwave for 15 seconds. Stir until the vinegar completely dilutes.
- Put the cooked rice in a large bowl. Combine with the vinegar mixture. Gently toss until the rice gets coated completely.
- Spread the rice mixture evenly in a baking dish. Lightly top with furikake. Set aside.
- Make the creamy topping by combining all the cream topping ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Spread over the rice.
- Top with remaining furikake. Bake for 18 minutes.
- Make the sriracha mayo topping by combining 5 Tablespoons of Lady’s Choice Mayonnaise with 1 Tablespoon sriracha sauce. Mix well and then transfer into a condiment squeeze bottle. Set aside.
- Remove the sushi bake from the oven. Top it with masago and avocado slices. Drizzle sriracha mayonnaise on top.
- Slice a portion of the sushi bake and place over a small piece of Nori sheet. Serve. Share and enjoy!
Leave a Reply