Sushi Rice Nests sprinkled with furikake make an attractive bed for serving Tea Crazed or hard boiled quail eggs.
A Nest for Quail Eggs
When I first brought quail eggs home from the Farmers’ Market I was fascinated by their appearance. I arranged and rearranged them in front of the window as I took some pictures. At one point I posed them in a small decorative nest I bought on vacation a few months earlier.
Soon I began to wonder if I could create an edible nest for my quail eggs. I began to look through cookbooks and blog posts. One recipe I checked out suggested a really delicious looking nest of smashed potatoes. I also saw a nest made from spaghetti somewhere. Both sounded good but I wanted to build on the ideas. Since I had also seen several posts about including quail eggs in bento boxes I thought of Japanese food and decided to make nests of rice, dressed with Japanese furikake.
Flavorful Additions
After working out how to cook quail eggs I turned to creating the nests I would set them in. I tried using both dressed Sushi Rice and long grain white rice cooked in broth and mixed with sesame seeds. The Sushi Rice held together better but both worked well.
Once the Sushi Rice Nests were shaped I sprinkled them with furikake I purchased at Uwajimaya. Furikake is a Japanese condiment that is often used to add texture and interest to plain rice. These colorful combinations of seeds, nori and other seasonings come in a variety of flavors. A dusting of these interesting mixtures neatly dressed my rice nests for a pretty display while adding spice and flavor that blended well with plain hard boiled or Tea Crazed Quail Eggs. Together they made a pleasing presentation.
Sushi Rice Nests with Furikake
8
servings55
minutes5
minutes1
hourHand shaped nests of Sushi, sprinkled with furikake (a combination of seeds, nori and seasoning), create a pretty setting for serving quail eggs.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked sushi (short grain) rice, prepared according to package directions
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon mirin
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Nonstick cooking spray
Furikake sprinkles
Hard Boiled or Tea Crazed Quail Eggs
Directions
- Place hot cooked sushi rice in a non-reactive bowl. Cover and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile place vinegar, mirin, sugar and salt in a small saucepan and heat while stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Sprinkle the vinegar mixture evenly over the rice and fold it in with a wooden spoon or spatula using a lifting or tossing motion.
- Once the rice is mixed cover it with a damp paper towel or tea towel and allow it to rest another 20 minutes before shaping.
- To Shape Rice Nests:
- Line a baking sheet or a rectangular storage container that has a flat bottom with a piece of waxed paper or parchment paper.
- Spray a small round dipping dish (approximately 2.5″ in diameter) with nonstick cooking spray. Place approximately 2 Tablespoons of the sushi rice mixture in the small round dish (or enough rice to fill the dish loosely plus just a little more). Even out the rice, then invert it onto the waxed paper and press it down firmly, molding the rice.
- Remove the dish and gently press your thumb into the center of the rice forming a depression while pressing your fingers around the outside of the circle to help maintain the nest shape. Repeat the process. The dish will need to be resprayed every two or three nests.
- Just before serving arrange nests on a serving tray or individual serving dishes. Sprinkle with furikake flakes. Then place a quail egg in the nest.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Recipe Source: adapted from a recipe at BeyondSalmon.com.
JR – Thanks for stopping by! I have several posts about Japanese food coming up. I hope to see you here again!
I use Furikake in my california roll rice salad that I like to make.
Saw you on the side bar of "Wives with Knifes" blog.
Being 1/2 Japanese, this caught my eye.
what an exotic creation, lisa! i learned no less than 14 things from reading this post. 🙂
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