Kimchi-mango nigiri

The thought of combining kimchi along with mango seems rather odd, but the pairing makes up for a wonderful savory bite! The spicy tangy crisp kimchi tingles the tastebuds as the sweetness of the mango slice brings in a smooth sweet aftertaste.

Again, I used jasmine rice along with a Korean multi-grain mixture called, (jak gok bap; 작곡밥) that contains: barely, millet, sweet brown rice, brown rice, job's tear, red bean, black bean, peeled mung bean, black sweet rice, corn, and green tea! When the rice is cooked, it transforms into a lovely purple. The (kimchi; 김치) is 썬김치. I prefer the kimchi to be fairly new because I like the crisp texture of the cabbage and the fermentation hasn't completely settled in yet. If the kimchi is older, then it has a much more powerful flavor that makes if difficult for me to handle. Don't get me wrong, I like aged fermented stinky foods, but in small quantities.

I'm 99% sure that sushi lovers are saltaholics. Too often I see people pour a long stream of soy sauce into their soy dishes. Their next step is to take their sushi rolls or nigiri submarines and plunge them deep into the dark soy sauce to the point the rice turns dark brown, and the sushi falls apart before it even gets to their mouths. It really is kinda hilarious to watch as people fumble so clumsily with their sushi. So try not to drown your sushi because It's disgusting, unnecessary, and the integrity of the subtle flavors are lost in sodium.

So, kimchi and mango are awesome together. I wonder what other interesting and unique combinations can be created....

Grilled Sirloin Nigiri

Who can't resist a tender juicy chunk of beef that's cooked medium rare? I know that I can't because I absolutely love beef. I grew up in Iowa, so beef was on the dinner table at least 4 days a week at my parent's house. I have seen beef used for nigiri in pictures online and felt it was necessary to attempt. Sirloin steak isn't really the best quality, but I wanted this to be within reasonable budget. I'd like to use ribeye or kobe beef, but that might not happen.

Overall it was successful and the steak turned out much better than I had expected! I used a liquid marinade and a dry rub called, Daddy Hinkel's. It's a favorite that my best friend Jonathan Sims introduced to me awhile ago and has been a favorite of mine. I had difficulty cutting the beef in nice even thin slices because I didn't have the proper knives available. Pretty much had a crumby steak knife and it just didn't work the way I had hoped. I will try using my sushi knife next time or a meat slicer would actually be even better! The meat was juicy enough to not need to top it with a sauce, but I'll explore that another time. Haha brushing an A1 sauce on nigiri.... cracks me up. The multi-grain rice accompanied the beef like bread would in a hearty filling way. On one nigiri image I sprinkled seasoned nori flakes on top and I really enjoyed that! Those seaweed flakes taste so good!!!

I'm surprised that this hasn't been explored yet in Kansas City sushi restaurants because the midwest is all about meat, especially BBQ! I can think of so many directions that this can go and it's exciting to think of putting them in sushi form. I really wonder if anyone in Kansas City is thinking about these things like I am? Perhaps it's somewhat absurd to turn a beautiful chunk of steak into nigiri form, but it's interesting to me and I think a valid concept to explore. Haha a steak and mashed potatoes sushi dinner for you Midwesterners who don't like fish.

BBQ pork belly nigiri

I have been wanting to focus on creating some neo-nigiri sushi for quite sometime because I have been bored with the typical tuna-yellowtail-salmon nigiri. I felt that it was appropriate to make my first neo-sushi inspired by a Korean dish I am particularly fond of called, (samgyeopsal; 쌈겹살) or pork belly. Whenever I am out at a Korean BBQ restaurant I will always devour tons of this meat, but I cannot eat it without my (soju; 소주) and beer (maekju; 맥주). Washing this delicious meat down with these two drinks is a must! ㅋㅋㅋ

The pork belly is brushed with (ssamjang; 쌈장), topped with sautéed enoki mushrooms, and garlic cloves. I used jasmine rice along with a Korean multi-grain mixture called, (jak gok bap;작곡밥) that contains: barely, millet, sweet brown rice, brown rice, job's tear, red bean, black bean, peeled mung bean, black sweet rice, corn, and green tea! When the rice is cooked, it transforms into a lovely purple. I like preparing rice this way because it tastes way better than that boring plain white rice stuff and it's a lot healthier. It's funny how I prefer white bread over wheat, but multi-grain rice over white. I suppose the fatty BBQ pork makes up for the unhealthy aspect though.

I was very happy with the results, but I think it could use some tweaking to better balance it all out. I think next time I'll accompany the pork belly with lettuce (sangchu; 상추), perilla leaves (kkaennip; 깻잎), some sliced raw onions, green onions, and (kimchi; 김치) or aged kimchi (mugeunji; 묵은지). The garlic, onions, and kimchi can be either grilled or consumed raw. I think combining the raw and cooked would be interesting. I tried king mushrooms and enoki mushrooms and I think the enoki worked the best. They didn't overpower the texture of the pork and weren't meaty unlike the king mushroom. Perhaps Shiitake mushrooms or oyster mushrooms would work with this as well. Maybe instead of using nori seaweed to tie the pieces together, using the green onions would be a better alternative? It would be a nice addition for some color. I also think I will try braising or slow roasting the pork rather than grilling it. I want that tender texture that melts in your mouth!

Nonetheless, the taste was awesome and a good effort for my first neo-nigiri. I don't know if I can call this sushi since it's not mixed with the sweet rice vinegar that is used, but I'll continue with the word: neo-nigiri! The nigiri playground is just as vast and creative as the sushi rolls concept. Sushi restaurants have tons of rolls that are so fusioned up, that they just become these giant rolls of rice with a lot of cream cheese, tempura fried, and drown in sauces. I think some of those rolls are good and quite creative with being that fusion type, but wouldn't it be nice to eat sushi that's not like that?

I feel the simpler the better in a lot of ways, but I can get carried away as well. It's easy to get rolled up with the trends of fusion sushi and Kansas City seems to follow that very well. I haven't been impressed with what is available here and wish there was a greater collective amongst sushi chefs here, where ideas can be tossed around and new food can be created or inspired by one another.

Innovation will come....