Kaisendon (海鮮丼, raw seafood rice bowl)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker or heavy lidded pot
• •Wide wooden sushi tub (hangiri), or a wide glass or ceramic bowl
• •Rice paddle
• •Sharp sashimi knife (yanagiba), or a very sharp chef's knife
• •Deep ceramic donburi bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse the rice

   Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water, swirling gently with your hand, then drain. Repeat until the water runs almost clear. This washes away loose surface starch, so the cooked grains stay distinct instead of turning pasty. Drain the rice well for 15 minutes before cooking, because soaked grains cook more evenly.

2. 2

   Cook the rice

   Cook the rice with the measured water in a rice cooker or covered pot. When it finishes, let it rest for 10 minutes before opening the lid. That rest lets the moisture settle through the pot, so the top and bottom grains eat the same way.

3. 3

   Season the rice

   Warm the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt just enough to dissolve the sugar, then let it cool. Turn the hot rice into a wide bowl or hangiri, sprinkle the vinegar mixture over it, and fold with a rice paddle in cutting motions while fanning. You're seasoning the grains without crushing them, and the fanning gives the rice its quiet gloss.

   A wooden hangiri is the traditional tub because it absorbs extra surface moisture. A wide glass or ceramic bowl works if you fold gently and spread the rice out.
4. 4

   Cool the rice

   Spread the seasoned rice in an even layer and let it cool to body temperature or a little cooler. Don't refrigerate it, which hardens the grains. Don't top it while hot either, because warmth softens raw fish and steals the clean edge you paid for.

5. 5

   Check the seafood

   Keep the seafood covered and cold until the moment you cut. Smell it first. It should be clean and faintly sweet, never sharp, sour, or strongly fishy. If anything makes you hesitate, cook it for another dish. Kaisendon has no hiding place, which is its good manners and its danger.

6. 6

   Slice the fish

   With a very sharp knife, slice the tuna and salmon across the grain in one smooth pull, about 1/4 inch thick. Wipe the blade between cuts. Sawing bruises the flesh and makes the surface dull, while one clean draw leaves a wet, even face that catches the light.

7. 7

   Cut the shellfish

   Slice each scallop horizontally into two or three coins if large, or leave small ones whole. Keep the sweet shrimp whole so their shape reads clearly in the bowl. Shellfish warms quickly under your fingers, so work in small batches and return anything waiting to the refrigerator.

8. 8

   Build the bowls

   Divide the sushi rice between two deep donburi bowls, mounding it gently without packing it down. Scatter a little sesame over the rice, tuck in shiso and cucumber, then arrange the tuna, salmon, scallop, and shrimp in odd groups with a little height at the center. Leave a clean rim of rice showing so the bowl can breathe.

9. 9

   Serve at once

   Serve immediately with soy sauce, grated wasabi, and pickled ginger on the side. Dip a slice lightly or brush a little soy over the seafood just before eating. Pouring soy over the whole bowl floods the rice and turns each fish into the same flavor, which is a waste of good shopping.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger a plain question: what arrived today that you would eat raw? A good shop answers clearly, and a better one will talk you out of buying on the wrong day.
• •Labels like sushi grade are not a legal guarantee in many places. Buy from a trusted source, keep the seafood cold, and eat it the same day. Sourcing first, always.
• •For salmon served raw, use fish sold for raw consumption by a reputable supplier, often previously frozen for parasite control. Ordinary fillets from the case are for cooking.
• •Use a long sashimi knife (yanagiba) if you own one. A sharp chef's knife is a sensible stand-in, but sharpen it first and cut with one clean pull.
• •If raw sweet shrimp isn't available, cooked shrimp is honest and common enough in a seafood bowl. Don't pretend grocery shrimp meant for cooking is amaebi. Change the topping and keep the bowl sound.

Advance Preparation

• •The vinegar seasoning can be mixed a day ahead and kept covered at room temperature.
• •Cook and season the rice shortly before serving. It can sit covered with a damp cloth for up to 2 hours at cool room temperature, but don't refrigerate it.
• •Cut the seafood only just before serving. Whole chilled pieces hold better than slices, and the cut face is part of the dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 475g)