[RECIPE] Sushi Bake

Since there was some curiosity about what a sushi-bake is, here's my own recipe for it. Sushi-bake is basically a "deconstructed" sushi roll where the ingredients are layered instead of rolled then baked in the oven. There are different variations of how it's made, so this is my take on it. Apologies if I don't have exact measurements of portions, as I just wing it and base it on the taste.

Ingredients:

• Sushi rice (regular white rice is fine if you don't have sushi rice, but add a bit more water when cooking to make it more moist).

• Rice vinegar.

• Any protein of your choice like crabstick, tuna, or salmon; shredded.

• Fruit/vegetable. Cucumber, mango, avocado, or any other ingredients you'd like to add to your sushi; sliced and cubed.

• Japanese mayo (i.e. kewpie).

• Sriracha. In my case, I used a gochujang-based hot sauce with truffle oil.

• Furikake.

• Sesame oil (optional).

• Sugar/sweetener (optional).

• Mozarella cheese (optional).

Recipe:

1. Cook sushi rice as directed.

2. Mix your protein, veggies, and fruit in a bowl with Japanese mayo and sriracha.

3. Mix the cooked sushi rice with a few tablespoons of rice vinegar and a bit of sugar (optional). I personally don’t put sugar because I find the rice vinegar enough for flavor.

4. Line a baking pan with foil. You can also do without, I'm just lazy with washing.

5. Grease the pan with a little sesame oil.

6. Add a base layer of sushi rice on the baking pan and flatten it thoroughly.

7. Add a layer of your protein/veggie/fruit mix on top of the rice.

8. Sprinkle a layer of furikake.

9. Optional: Since I like to put cheese on everything, add a layer of shredded mozarella.

10. For aesthetic purposes, draw alternating diagonal lines of mayo and sriracha, and top it off with another sprinkling of furikake.

11. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes.

To eat, slice it into square bites. You can eat it as is with chopsticks or a fork/spoon, or use Nori to scoop it up.