Barazushi is a kind of sushi with a lot of vegetables mixed in. Bara means “scattered,” describing here that vegetables are mixed into the sushi rice. It is also called Gomokuzushi (vegetable sushi). It is most often prepared at home rather than served at restaurants and is another “mom’s home cooking” kind of dish everyone likes.
Barazushi is the dish of celebrations. There is a lot to celebrate in spring in Japan. In March, girls’ festival (Hina Matsuri) is a big celebration, and families with daughters make Barazushi at home for the day. That may be because the colorful toppings like Kinshi Tamago and Benishoga for Barazushi look festive and spring like. Barazushi is also made for other celebrations like school graduations and school entrances that also occur in spring (the school year in Japan begins in April and ends in March).
The vegetables used in Barazushi depend on region and preference in the home. Popular vegetables are Kanpyo (dried gourd), lotus roots, Koyadofu (dried tofu), and also ones used in this recipe, such as carrot and dried Shiitake (hydrated). You can add some seafood like Unagi (eel) and Ikura (salmon roe) if you like to make the dish even more special.
Barazushi is not as fancy sushi as Nigiri (sushi pieces with raw fish on top) at sushi restaurants, but it still looks and tastes delicious. And best of all, it’s mom’s cooking. Who wouldn’t like that?
Barazushi
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Ingredients
- 1 small carrot
- 3 large dried Shiitake mushrooms
- 2 oz bamboo shoot
- 1/2 cup Dashi
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp Mirin
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3 cups Sushi Rice 1.5 times the recipe
- Kinshi Tamago 1 recipe
- Nori roasted seaweed thinly cut
- 5 snow peas blanched and sliced thinly
- Benishoga pickled red ginger
Instructions
- Cut carrot thinly. Hydrate dried Shiitake mushrooms for 15 minutes, squeeze out water, and cut thinly. Cut Takenoko into small pieces.
- In a pot, let boil Dashi, soy sauce, Mirin, and sugar, add all the vegetables (except snow peas), and cook at medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the liquid is almost evaporated. Let it cool.
- In a large deep dish, mix Sushi Rice and cooked vegetables well.
- Serve on an individual plate with Kinshitamago, Roasted Seaweed, sliced snow peas, and Benishoga on top.
Simon
June 30, 2014 at 6:44 pmI made this evening for my family with leftover inarizushi ingredients. It was so delicious and easy to make! Kinshi tamago adds more volume and great taste to this dish. Thank you for this recipe I think I will make this more often from now on.
Noriko
September 13, 2014 at 10:17 pmSimon,
glad you and your family liked our Barazushi recipe! It’s a perfect dish for family!
Peter
October 24, 2014 at 7:37 amThis must be very healthy. I can make it anywhere, but I might have to adjust the ingredients depending on where I am. It is hard to get seaweed in Europe for example, but spinach might be a great replacement.
Noriko
October 24, 2014 at 9:37 pmPeter,
I agree, you may have to be creative on ingredients depending on where you live.