Ohyo no kobujime no temarizushi / mini sushi balls with fresh halibut sandwitched in kelp

Temarizushi, small globes of sushi with assorted ingredients, is another fun way to serve homemade sushi. Here is an example with ohyo halibut made into kobujime. Despite my strong image of temarizushi as being for girls’ parties, this is one of Tom’s current favorite ways to enjoy fresh halibut.

<Ingredients>

(makes 16-20 temarisushi; serves 4)

Sumeshi sushi rice made with 2 180 cc cups of rice
250 g ohyo no kobujime (fresh ohyo halibut sandwiched in kombu kelp)
1-1 1/2 tsp wasabi (powder in photo; prepared wasabi in a tube is fine)
Soy sauce (for serving; not in photo)


<Directions>
1.

Add a small amount of water to wasabi powder, and mix well.

2.

Slice kobujime fish thinly, 3-4 mm.

3.

Ready a medium bowl of water to wet hands.
Roughly divide sushi rice into desired number of balls, wet hands, and make balls. 

4.

Assemble.
If using plastic film or moistened (hard wrung) cloth, place film or cloth on your palm, place a fish slice, and dab wasabi in the center.

Put a rice ball, wrap, and twist plastic film or cloth while squeezing somewhat tightly.

Unwrap.
One temarizushi is ready. 

You can, of course, do this with your hands without the aid of plastic film or cloth.

5.

Serve with soy sauce.

<Notes>

• The typical size of each temarizushi ball is about the same as a golf ball, or slightly larger.
• Make sure to slice fish thinly. Thin slices ensure wasabi's green color is visible (not so you know it has wasabi but to show the color -- appearance is important!).
• Putting wasabi is optional. It is usually not included when intended for kids (and grownups with little tolerance). 
• Any sashimi-grade fish works fine, and you do not have to make it into kobujime first.
• Compared to other fish and shellfish commonly used for sushi, halibut tastes very plain and is not very distinctive by itself. By turning halibut into kobujime, in which it is first salted to draw out excess water and then sandwiched between kombu kelp, halibut’s taste is concentrated (due to less water content) and takes on kelp’s aromatic, sweet flavor, which contrasts wonderfully well with the sour and slightly sweet taste of sushi rice and spicy wasabi. 
• For the sushizu sushi vinegar in this temarizushi (and any sushi with raw or cured fish), less sweetness works better to bring out the fish’s taste. When preparing sushi vinegar, use slightly less sugar than usual, or add slightly more rice vinegar.
• While seafood (fish, prawns, calamari, scallops, fish roe) is a common ingredient, temarizushi can be made with egg crepes and vegetables (usually cooked or pickled). Temarizushi implies the round appearance.
• Temari in temarizushi means thread balls, a traditional Japanese handicraft made with colorful silk threads. To make the sushi as attractive as temari balls, at parties temarizushi often includes a few kinds made with different ingredients with contrasting colors.