Sushi Balls (Temarizushi)- Halloween Style ハローウィーンの手毬寿司

Directions

1. Prepare your sushi rice by cooking it according to your rice cooker or stovetop method. Before cooking, mix in 1 teaspoon of konbu dashi powder or a 5-centimeter piece of kelp into the rice with the water.
2. While the rice cooks, combine 1/2 cup of rice vinegar, 1.5 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a small pot. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Set this sushi vinegar aside.
3. Use nori sheets to cut out Jack-O-Lantern faces. With a 6.5-centimeter diameter cookie cutter, cut two round nori pieces for the cat face.
4. Crack the egg and fry it flat in a pan. Let it cool, then use the same 6.5-centimeter cookie cutter to cut out two rounds from the cooked egg.
5. Wash and thinly slice 1/4 of a small cucumber and 1 small radish.
6. Once the rice is cooked, pour the sushi vinegar over it and mix well to season the rice evenly.
7. Let the rice cool slightly. Then place your chosen topping (e.g., smoked salmon slice, egg round, cucumber, or radish) in the center of a piece of cling wrap.
8. Scoop about 1/3 cup of seasoned rice onto the topping. Gather the cling wrap around the rice and topping, then gently squeeze and shape into a firm ball.
9. Repeat the process with different toppings to make a variety of sushi balls.
10. Remove the cling wrap from each ball and arrange them on a serving plate.
11. Using chopsticks or tweezers, place the pre-cut nori pieces on top of the sushi balls to create Jack-O-Lantern faces.
12. Pipe mayonnaise onto the sushi balls to draw cat faces (e.g., whiskers, eyes).
13. Top the radish and cucumber sushi balls with the fish roe.
14. Serve with soy sauce, mayonnaise, and wasabi if desired.