Sushi, which appeared in Japan around the eighth century, has become a favorite culinary delight these days. However, cooking them at home can be challenging.
Various types of sushi are known - nigiri, temaki, poppies and, of course, gunkans. Although they are less popular than rolls, cooking them is easier. Gunkan traditionally is a ball of rice, wrapped in nori sliced in strips and filled with a filling (most often caviar). In addition, rice can be flavored with wasabi for added flavor and pungency.
Gunkan - what is it?
The word "gunkan" means "ship", this name is fully justified by the appearance of the dish. At their core, gunkans are a common, more traditional form of land. They are topped with any filling (caviar, fish, quail eggs, seafood, even vegetables), and are also sharp and baked. The most common are sushi with salmon caviar, as well as tobiko or masago. Often they use a special wasabiko caviar (tobiko + wasabi powder), which has a characteristic pungent taste.
What are gunkans in Japanese cuisine? First of all, this is an appetizer, which is simple. In the classic Japanese version, the gunkan contains only caviar or chopped fish on rice, and all this is surrounded by algae.
Since caviar is usually very salty, rice should be as fresh as possible. An exception is the filling in the form of eel - it is desirable to dilute its sweet taste with spicy sauce. So how to make gunkans?
Cooking
For 6-8 sushi you will need the following:
- 2 sheets of nori;
- 1.5 cups rice for sushi;
- 1 can of red caviar.
To prepare rice for gunkans, rinse it well with cold water, place it in a pot of water (there should be one and a half times more water), let it boil and then cook over low heat with the lid closed.
When cooking rice, make a Japanese dressing for it. To do this, take a separate pan, pour rice vinegar into it and add salt and sugar to taste. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, but do not boil the mixture. When the rice is ready, transfer it to a large bowl, pour the dressing into it and mix with a few sharp movements with a wooden spoon.
Moisten your hands with rice vinegar or warm water. Form a small ball of rice with your hands or use a round cookie cutter. You should make koloboks about 1.5 cm long and 1 cm high. Cut the nori into the marked stripes. Wrap the strips around the circumference of each rice ball. Place about one tablespoon of caviar on top of each rice ball. You will get a classic gunkan.
What is this in terms of serving? This dish should be served with soy sauce, wasabi and ginger.
Hot boats
Answering the question: "Gunkan - what is it?" - You should not forget about hot sushi, which is not a traditional Japanese dish. This appetizer is an international invention of cooks, which has become popular both in post-Soviet countries and in Europe. To prepare them, a standard ball of rice is made, wrapped in a strip of nori, and the filling looks more complicated.
Typically, any finely chopped fish, seafood or mushrooms that are mixed with the sauce is taken as the basis. To make the sauce, mix in the desired proportions Japanese mayonnaise, chili sauce and tobiko. Typically, the ratio of mayonnaise to sauce is 3 to 1, but you can experiment on your own preferences. In addition, you can not use chili sauce, but replace it with tomato paste. In this case, the gunkans will turn out to be sharp.
Then the main filling mixes well with seasonings and is applied evenly on rice. In some cases, the gunkan is sprinkled with finely grated cheese. Such boats are baked on the grill or in the oven for several minutes and served hot.
So the baked gunkan is prepared. What it is is described in detail above. But what is spicy sushi? In fact, these are the same gunkans that are not baked, but served on the table immediately after formation. As a rule, they are not sprinkled with cheese. Sometimes, for decoration and additional taste, a raw quail egg is broken on the top layer of the filling.
How do gunkans eat?
Firstly, they are served immediately after cooking. This is due to the fact that under the influence of wet rice and juicy filling, the algae quickly soak and become not crispy.
Secondly, such sushi should be eaten whole, since when cutting or biting, the filling can fall out.
Now you know what gunkans are, how they are cooked and how they are eaten.