Frushi!
Prep time: 20 miutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 rolls
Great for: Stepmother’s Day!
Wine suggestion: Haut Médoc or St. Emilion
For the Rice:
2 cups sushi rice
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/8 cup sugar
1/8 cup mirin
For the Frushi Roll:
4 sheets nori
1 pound magret de canard (duck breast),
sliced 1/4 inch thick
Freshly ground black pepper
Cherry compote (see p. xxx)
Pickled ginger
Soy sauce
In a strainer, rinse the rice until the water runs totally clear.
In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, sugar, and mirin, whisking until sugar
dissolves. Cool to room temperature. Cook the rice in a rice cooker with equal
cups water to rice. Transfer the rice to large mixing bowl. Pour the vinegar
mixture over rice, folding it in until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl with
a warm, wet towel. Set aside.
On a cutting board, pepper the duck breast, then slice it into 1/4-inch-thick
strips. Cover a bamboo sushi mat with plastic film, wrapping it tightly. Cut a
quarter of a nori sheet off with a pair of scissors. Take the larger portions
of nori and lightly toast each sheet by waving it over a toaster or heating it
in a pan. If the nori turns light green, it’s been toasted too long. Set the sheets
aside.
In the same pan, cook the duck, leaving the fat on (for now), to
your liking. Once cooked, move the duck to a cutting board, and let rest. Place
1 nori sheet on the covered bamboo mat, rough side up, and cover with rice.
Carefully flip the sheet over on the mat, placing the rice side down. Trim the
fat off a few slices of duck, cutting larger pieces down into 1/4-inch-thick
strips, and place them on the lowest edge of the nori, toward you. Place a tablespoon
or two of cherry compote over the duck, then roll! To cut the Frushi, cover the
roll in plastic wrap. The first cut should be in the center, moving outward, ending
up with 6 pieces. Garnish each slice with a slice of pickled ginger and a
cherry from the compote. Serve with soy sauce.
Notes: As for other filling ideas for Frushi, get creative! Chicken
with mango? Yes! Lamb with mint? Yes! Pork with caramelized pineapple? Yes!
Yes! And yes! Just have fun. Like I did with this dish.
