Tekka Don (Japanese Tuna Sashimi Bowl)

Measure out the rice and pour it into a sieve. Place the sieve over a mixing bowl, fill it with cold water and swish the rice around. Pour the cloudy water out and repeat two more times to wash the rice.

Transfer 150 g uncooked Japanese rice to a rice cooker (or pot with lid) and add 150 ml cold water and 3 g dried kelp (kombu). Leave to soak for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add ½ tbsp sake and mix. Set the rice cooker to cook the rice. (If cooking on the stove, follow my instructions in the post or check out my sushi rice post.

Mix 1 tbsp rice vinegar, ¼ tsp sugar and ½ tsp salt in a small bowl until the granules have dissolved. Set aside for later.

Pour 50 ml mirin and 50 ml sake into a small pan and boil on a medium-high heat for 1 minute to burn off the alcohol.

Turn off the heat and add 50 ml Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), then leave to cool. (You can speed up the cooling process by transferring the sauce to a heatproof bowl and placing over a bowl of ice.) It must be fully cooled before adding the tuna.

Pour the cooled marinade into a wide container and add 2-3 g dried kelp (kombu).

Coat 200 g sashimi grade tuna in the marinade and then lay them flat in the container. Try to keep it to one layer.

Cover the tuna with plastic wrap so that its in direct contact with the surface of the tuna. If the container has a lid, place it on top. If not, add another piece of plastic wrap over the top. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Once the rice has cooked, remove the kombu and break it up using a rice paddle.

Add the rice vinegar mixture to the rice and mix until evenly distributed.

Divide it into serving bowls and then arrange the slices of marinated tuna on top. Pour about ½ tbsp of the leftover marinade over each bowl and top with 1 tsp wasabi paste, 2-4 perilla leaves (shiso), 1 tbsp pickled sushi ginger (gari) and 2 tbsp finely chopped green onions.

Enjoy!