
Recipe
Futomaki
A fat roll that'll leave you wanting more
Written by Doobydobap
Intro
A literal translation of futomaki is “fat rolled sushi.“ In many omakase restaurants, it is the finalé piece to the course. It’s filled with a hodge-podge of ingredients: odd pieces of sashimi, the end pieces of tamagoyaki, bits of vegetables, and pickles. It’s filled with whatever is usually considered as a “chef’s snack.“ The individual components are not good enough on its own. But together, wrapped with rice and nori, it makes a beautifully balanced and harmonious bite. Though it may seem daunting to fit the piece all in one, you must. Just wash it down with cold beer afterwards and it is the most satisfying bite you’ll ever have.
Ingredients
Rice
- 1 cup rice
- 235 mL water
- 1 piece kombu
- 1 ½ sheets nori
Sushi Vinegar
- 50mL rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
Futomaki Fillings
- Tamagoyaki
- 6 eggs
- 1 tbsp tsuyu
- 1 tbsp dashi stock or water
- 1 tsp of neutral oil (for frying)
- Prawn Tempura
- 2 large prawns
- Dry mixture: 2 tbsp of AP flour + salt
- Wet batter: 2 tbsp of AP flour + salt + 2 tbsp ice water
- Fish
- 100g Tuna
- 100g Salmon
*Feel free to use whatever sashimi that is available to you! The world is your oyster~~ (Maybe not oyster because of its high water content…) - Orange Masago
- Salmon Roe (for garnish)
- 50g Sweet Pickled Radish (Takuwan)
- ½ Avocado
Instructions
Rice
- Wash your rice. Make sure to rinse the rice thoroughly until the water is almost clear.
- Drain the rice and add the water to the rice. When you put your hand on the rice, the water should barely cover the top of your hand.
- Wipe the kombu with a damp cloth. This helps rid of excess salt or any impurities on the kombu.
- Place the kombu on top of the rice.
- Put the rice in the rice cooker with the glutinous white rice setting selected.
- Make the sushi vinegar: mix all the ingredients together and whisk until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Once the rice is finished, use a rice paddle and fluff the rice around. This helps some of the excess moisture evaporate from the rice
- Transfer the rice onto a flat plate. Best is in a sushi oke (wooden sushi rice bowl used in restaurants) as the rice can have room to cool off. If not, improvise with a baking sheet or a large plate. (Which is what I did!)
- Immediately pour the sushi vinegar liquid over the rice. Make sure to distribute it evenly by pouring on top of your rice paddle moving in a large circular motion.
- Mix the rice gently by flipping. Repeat process until rice is cooled down to room temperature
Tamagoyaki
- Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Make sure to not over mix as that can result in an overly “fluffy” texture.
- Add the tsuyu and the water.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve for any strands.
- Heat the pan over medium high heat.
- Drizzle neutral oil on the pan and wipe excess oil with a small paper towel.
- When the pan is hot, pour a thin layer of the egg mixture.
- Tilt the pan around to distribute the mixture. Pop any air bubbles with chopsticks.
- Roll the egg into a log starting from the side farthest away from you
- Once a log has formed, pour a second layer of the egg mixture in.
- Make sure to lift the first egg layer log and distribute the new mixture so that it can adhere.
- Repeat the process
- Once finished, transfer to a plate. If you want the tamagoyaki to be in a perfect shape, wrap it with a sushi mat and let cool until it reaches room temperature
Prawn Tempura
- Fill a medium-sized pot halfway with oil and heat until the oil reaches 190C / 375F
- Prepare the prawns. Twist the head off and remove its shell. Make 2 small incisions on the inside of the prawn where it curls up. This helps the prawns stay straight instead of curling up.
- Prepare the dry mixture and the wet batter. Do not over mix the wet batter
- Coat the prawns in the dry mixture. Dust off excess flour.
- Dip the dusted prawns in the wet batter.
- Once the oil has come up to temperature, drop the prawns in carefully.
- Cook for 2 minutes and pull out once the fry starts floating on top
- Place on a wire rimmed tray and salt immediately
- Cool until room temperature
Sashimi preparation
- Cut the sashimi into long strips.
- For oilier fish like maguro or fatty tuna, wrap in a cotton tea towel to get rid of excess oil. (Without this process, the oil exuding out from the fish can completely disassemble your roll.)
- Cut the tamagoyaki into a large rectangular prism. This will be the center “pole” of your futomaki.
- Dice the pickled radish into thin slices.
- Peel and slice the avocado. Squeeze some lime juice on top to prevent discoloration.
- Slice the cooled tamagoyaki lengthwise. It should be approximately the same length as the nori or slightly longer
- Place all the ingredients aside and prepare for assembly.
Assembly
- Fold a sheet of nori in half and cut.
- Attach the ½ sheet of nori to the end of the full nori sheet. Wet the end with water and press the seams together.
- Place the extended nori sheet on top of a bamboo mat
- Create a big rice ball with two hands. Place the rice ball in the center of the nori. Spread the rice evenly to create a rectangle covering ⅔ of the nori.
- Spread the masago and the wasabi evenly from one side of the nori to another
- Gently place the sliced tamagoyaki.
- Next, place your fish in front of the tamagoyaki. The tamagoyaki will act as a shield from the sashimi being squished while rolling.
- Place the shrimp tempura on top of the fish. Then put the pickled radish and avocado on top.
- Be confident. You can do it. Decisively roll the nori using the bamboo mat. Tuck in the fillings as you roll. This will take practice, but once you master it, you’ll get it. It’s like rolling a burrito.
- Try and make sure the start of the rice meets the end of the rice after rolling. For excess nori, wet the edges a little to help the roll adhere.
- Leave the roll in the bamboo mat for 5-10 minutes. This is also a good time to check if there is cold beer in the fridge. If not, place a cold asahi in your freezer now.
- Unroll your roll.
- Slice gently.
- Garnish with roe. (optional)
- Be proud of your creation and marvel at your cross section. (not optional)
- Enjoy with a glass of cold beer.
Recent recipes
Hi, I’m Tina aka Doobydobap!
Food is my medium to tell stories and connect with people who share the same passion. My recipes are a culmination of my experiences. I hope you enjoy recreating them at home, and if you do, make sure to tag me on Instagram!
Recent recipes
Hey Doobies, thanks for visiting! Join my mailing list for more delicious recipes and stories.
Comments