I was always interested in Japanese cuisine, especially in sushi making.
My family and I love making sushi when everyone is rolling his own favorite sushi.
One of my daughter’s favorite dish is nigiri salmon – that’s where I got the idea of combining sous vide cooking with sushi.
Since I left with 4 Kg (9 pounds) of short ribs from my previous experiment when I compared 4 different textures of short ribs (applies also to chuck cut), I decided to use it making my nigiri beef dish.
Ingredients for nigiri cuts
1kg/2.2lbs short ribs
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Ingredients for sushi per cup of rice
1 cup sushi rice
1 ¼ cup water
1 ½ tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Ingredients for jus (beef sauce)
Remaining beef juices from sous vide vacuum bag
½ cup red wine
50 grams unsalted butter
1 teaspoon dry ground chili
2 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
Cooking short ribs
Season the meat with salt and black pepper.
Put the meat into the vacuum bag and seal it.
Submerge the vacuum bag into the preheated water at 60°C/140°F and cook for 48 hours.
You can reduce the time to 24 hours by cooking at 75°C/167°F but it will change the texture and will result in much more tenderness and falling from the bone.
Slicing sashimi cuts
Slice thin cuts similar to sashimi and burn them slightly with a kitchen torch.
Making jus (beef sauce)
Pure the remaining meat juices into a hot pan and bring it to a boil.
Let it cook down and get rid of all the water.
After all liquids were reduced and only a thin gray layer of brown bits remained, add a red wine, butter, dry ground chili, brown sugar and salt to taste.
Mix all together and let it coot until getting a thick and flavorsome sauce.
Making sushi rice
Rinse the rice in a strainer until the water runs clear.
Pure the rice with the water into a pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 8 minutes or until all water is absorbed.
Let it rest closed for 5 minutes.
In a small saucepan, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt.
Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
With a wooden spoon mix the rice with the sauce and let it rest to reach the room temperature.
Assembling the nigiri
Take by hand a small amount of rice, squeeze and roll firmly until it sticks together and shape it into an oval.
Gently, brush the rice with the jus.
Add the beef sliced cut.
Feel free at add additional toppings, such as chimichurri, red chili or scallions.
Final result
Chimichurri as topping
Chimichurri is a perfect accompaniment to any barbecued or grilled meat with Latin flavors.
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 cup finely chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 red chili
1 tbsp dried oregano (fresh preferred)
Salt to taste
Black ground pepper to taste
Zest of a lemon
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 finely chopped onion
1/2 bell pepper
In a blender, mix all the ingredients together using the pulse setting to get the desired texture.
Serve with meat, fish and as a salad dressing.
