Oct 11
2010

How to Make Temarizushi (Ball-Shaped Sushi)

in Appetizers, Fuji Favorites, Japanese, Recipes By Region, Recipes by Type, Rice & Noodles, Seafood


On October 3rd I drove out to Venice to run a sushi station at the LA Helps LA tasting event.  (A big thank you to Mac of Dishin’ In The Kitchen who is letting me use her photos for the event portion of this post.  My camera battery decided to go on the fritz at the event, and if it weren’t for Mac, I wouldn’t have any event pictures!)

The Dogtown Station Lofts in Venice, CAThe crowd at the LA Helps LA Tasting Event

The event, hosted by Small Pleasures, was to raise funds for the Gulf Restoration Network.  I was one of a group of bloggers that was present to pass out signature appetizers to the guests, as the guests ate the amazing food made by Uncle Darrow’s Cajun/Creole Restaurant and The Cheese Impresario, and the incredible dessert buffet made by Gisele of Small Pleasures.

Mac (Dishin' In The Kitchen) offering her appetizer to a guest

I wish I had a picture of the food from Uncle Darrow’s—it was DELICIOUS.  I’m still dreaming about their red beans and rice . . . so good.  I do, however, have pictures of some of Gisele’s amazing dessert creations, including her luxurious chocolate cake and her out-of-this-world Fig Frangipane Tart.

Gisele of Small Pleasures and some of her amazing dessert creations

I didn’t have a whole lot of time to eat during the event, so I grabbed a couple of things when it was over to take home with me and eat at home.  One of those items was a slice of Gisele’s tart.  Mr. Fuji and I savored every last little microscopic crumb of that slice because it was so darn good.  I’m seriously thinking that I’m going to need to hire Gisele to make something similar for my birthday “cake” . . . . Lucky for you, Gisele is awesome and posted her recipe!

Small Pleasures Fig Frangipane Tart

A HUGE thank you to the California Fig Advisory Board for providing the figs for the tart and a ton of GORGEOUS fig leaves, which I used to line the platters of sushi at my sushi station.

Gorgeous Fresh Fig Leaves

You definitely made the event more delicious and beautiful!

Salmon Temarizushi on beautiful fig leaves

I had so much fun at the event.  The energy was amazing.

RachaelDoing sushi prep(Don’t you think my head scarf is WAY cuter than a hair net?)

I had help from two awesome assistant sushi chefs during the night.  Greg (Sippity Sup) and Erika (In Erika’s Kitchen) were quick and willing learners and I had them both making temarizushi (ball-shaped sushi) within a matter of minutes.

Erika (In Erika's Kitchen) & Rachael (La Fuji Mama)

For my sushi station, I teamed up with I Love Blue Sea who provided sustainable seafood (kind of appropriate for an event raising funds for the Gulf Restoration Network, don’t ya think?), and made 2 different kinds of sushi.

Making temarizushi

I made temakizushi (cone-shaped hand rolls) to order and salmon temarizushi (ball-shaped sushi).  I love temarizushi.  Not only are they fun and easy to make (especially with my handy-dandy little trick that I’m going to share with you), but they make a great appetizer because they are perfectly bite-sized and are beautiful to look at!  Temari are small Japanese balls made with leftover scraps of kimono fabric.  This style of sushi is meant to be reminiscent of these balls.

Salmon Temarizushi with mayonnaise and chives

How to Make Temarizushi (Ball-Shaped Sushi)

How To Make Temarizushi

  1. Lay a large square of plastic wrap on a clean dry work surface.  Place a slice of fish in the middle of the square, and put a tiny dot of wasabi in the middle of the fish.
  2. With slightly damp hands, shape approximately 2 teaspoons of sushi rice into a ball and place the ball on top of the fish.  Don’t be tempted to use more rice.  Larger balls are harder to eat, and the balls taste better with a high fish to rice ratio.
  3. Gather the plastic wrap up around the rice ball, then twist the plastic wrap, sealing the rice inside, and firmly press the rice into a ball shape (don’t press too hard or you’ll turn everything into rice mash . . . yuck!).
  4. While holding the plastic wrapped ball in one hand, use your forefinger of your free hand to gently press into the center of the fish to make a small depression, flattening the rice ball slightly in the process.
  5. Unwrap the ball and set it on a plate.  Place your garnish of choice in the depression. Repeat to make more balls!

See how easy that is?  Now you can go and make your own salmon temarizushi for your next party (or a special snack)!  I’ve provided a few alternative ideas after the recipe (because I love ya)!

Salmon Temarizushi on a fig leaf

Print This Recipe Print This Recipe

Salmon Temarizushi (Ball-Shaped Sushi)

Makes about 4 dozen balls

5 ounces sushi-fresh salmon, sliced into thin squares (1 to 2 inches square)
2 tablespoons wasabi
2 cups sushi rice
2 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 bunch of chives, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1. Lay a large square of plastic wrap on a clean dry work surface.  Place a slice of salmon in the middle of the square.  Put a tiny dot of wasabi in the middle of the salmon.

2. With slightly damp hands, shape approximately 2 teaspoons of sushi rice into a ball and place the ball on top of the salmon.

3.  Gather the plastic wrap up around the rice ball, then twist the plastic wrap, sealing the rice inside, and firmly press the rice into a ball shape (don’t press too hard or you’ll turn everything into rice mash).

4. While holding the plastic wrapped ball in one hand, use your forefinger of your free hand to gently press into the center of the salmon to make a small depression, flattening the rice ball slightly in the process.

5. Unwrap the ball and set it on a plate.  Place a small dollop of mayonnaise in the depression and garnish with several chive pieces.

6. Repeat the process with the rest of the ingredients.

RECIPE NOTES:

* Don’t be tempted to use more rice!  Not only are smaller balls easier to eat, but one of the things that make temarizushi so delicious is the higher fish to rice ratio.

Temarizushi Variations

Salmon Temarizushi with black sesame seeds

Salmon Temarizushi with Sesame Seeds: Instead of topping the balls with mayonnaise and chives, sprinkle some toasted black sesame seeds in the depression for a simpler nutty variation.

Vegetarian Shiso Temarizushi

Vegetarian Shiso Temarizushi: Place a dollop of mayonnaise or wasabi on a small square cut out of a shiso leaf.  For the temarizushi as directed in the tutorial.  Fill the depression with chopped pickled ginger.

==================================================

* Pillsbury Crescent Cook Contest Voting:

To vote for me in the Pillsbury Crescent Cook Contest, you have to fill out the entire form below the pictures and set up an account for your vote to count. After registering the first time, you then have to log in for each subsequent vote (log in area is at the top of the page), hit the vote button, then scroll down and hit the “Enter Now” button. You’ll know that your vote has been counted if you then get a screen that starts with, “Thank you for entering the My Crescent Wow Sweepstakes!” Thank you so much for your support!!

{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }

Shea October 11, 2010 at 7:38 pm

OK, just found my next project. Awesome! Looks delicious. We are huge sushi fans. Can’t wait to try it.

Reply

Cookin' Canuck October 11, 2010 at 7:40 pm

What a wonderful event, Rachael. Your temarizushi are absolutely beautiful – such a fun finger food idea.

Reply

Karen October 11, 2010 at 7:57 pm

YUMYUM! Will totally use fig leaves in the future– they’re beautiful! Thanks!

Reply

Julie @ Willow Bird Baking October 11, 2010 at 10:20 pm

They’re SO cute!! And I love the fig leaves, too!

Reply

Megan October 11, 2010 at 10:26 pm

Yay!! These look easy enough for me to make! They also look very impressive, which is another bonus. Yes your little Burberry scarf looks so much cuter than a hair net :-)

Reply

the wicked noodle October 12, 2010 at 4:26 am

What a great party! And I am SO trying those yummy sushi balls. Thanks for showing us the technique :)

Reply

lauretta October 12, 2010 at 5:56 am

so funny! i have to do it…. :)

Reply

Joy October 12, 2010 at 6:46 am

That is cool! I love that shape.

Reply

Gisele October 12, 2010 at 8:41 am

Yep, your scarf is way cuter than a hairnet!

Thank you so much for the absolutely delicious sushi (and this from someone who was not really a big sushi fan previously), and for helping the Gulf Restoration Network.

And thanks again to the California Fig Advisory Board and ILoveBlue Sea.com

Reply

martin October 12, 2010 at 9:56 am

Looks like a great event! Wish I could’ve been there. Can’t wait to try making temarizushi!!

Reply

Ananda Rajashekar October 12, 2010 at 12:11 pm

awee what a pretty sushi! and agree! hair band is more lovely :)

Reply

A Canadian Foodie October 17, 2010 at 9:54 am

I would really appreciate it if you could get a subscribe by e-mail plug in uploaded so that i could get your new posts in my mail. I am never timely with my readers or feeds.
Let me know. I know I am not alone in this, and it will most likely help others like me keep up dated.
:)
Valerie
Thanks!

Reply

Fuji Mama (Rachael) October 17, 2010 at 9:43 pm

@A Canadian Foodie, One is already available through the RSS subscription options (you can select either subscription through an RSS Feed Reader, or through email!): http://feeds.feedburner.com/LaFujiMama (The RSS button is in my info box on the right side and at the bottom of one of the columns.)

Reply

dot October 18, 2010 at 7:20 pm

I love this idea! it seems like a great way to do sushi as an appetizer.

I’ll be featuring this in the spotlight this week on foodwhirl.com :) watch for it on wednesday, I think.

Dot

Reply

burnout June 7, 2014 at 2:28 am

Hello, I do think your site could bee having internet
browser comlatibility problems. When I take a look at ykur blog in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in I.E., iit has
some ovverlapping issues. I merdely wanted to give
you a quickk heads up! Apart from that, wonderful website!

Reply

Leave a Comment

{ 5 trackbacks }

Previous post:

Next post: