Tobiko Gunkan is a decadent sushi featuring seasoned sushi rice wrapped in a strip of nori and topped with tobiko and a quail egg. This restaurant-quality sushi comes together in minutes and will wow your friends and family at your next sushi night at home!
2nori sheetscut into 6 approximately 1x7-inch strips
2tablespoontobikodivided
6quail eggs
Instructions
Rice
Stovetop instructions - Place rice in a saucepan and rinse the rice in the sink until the water runs clear, then drain. Combine washed rice and filtered water in a medium saucepan. Bring the rice to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.
½ cup uncooked Japanese short grain rice, ⅔ cups filtered water
Rice cooker instructions - Place rice in the electric rice cooker pot and rinse the rice in the sink until the water runs clear, then drain. Combine rice and filtered water in the pot and cook per the rice cooker directions.
½ cup uncooked Japanese short grain rice, ⅔ cups filtered water
Make sushi rice - Transfer rice to a bowl and season with seasoned rice vinegar. Fluff and fan the rice until cool.
½ tablespoon sushi vinegar
Tobiko Sushi
Form rice - Keep a bowl of water next to your sushi making station to keep your hands wet. This prevents the rice from sticking to your hands. Wet your hands in the bowl of water and put about 2 tablespoons of rice in your hands. Use the palm of your hand to gently form the rice into an oval shape. Squeeze the rice gently just so the rice sticks together but is not mushy. Use your fingers on the opposite hand to form the rice, as shown in the photos above.
Wrap the rice - Place the formed rice on a clean surface. Take a strip of nori and wrap it around the perimeter of one of the rice ovals. Use a single grain of rice as “glue” to seal the tail of the nori strip. Repeat steps on the remaining rice ovals to form 6 gunkan, or battleships.
2 nori sheets
Fill the gunkan - Fill the top of the gunkan sushi with tobiko and carefully create a small well in the middle. Crack the quail eggs and place one in each tobiko well. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi if desired.
2 tablespoon tobiko, 6 quail eggs
Notes
StorageTobiko gunkan is best enjoyed immediately or within 1 day of making. Store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. The key is to keep the moisture locked in so the roll doesn't dry out. This tobiko roll does not stand up well to freezing.Top Tips
When you are cooking the rice, make sure you don't add too much water or the rice will become mushy (we want it firm).
Be careful to not overcook the rice or it will be too hard and not pliable enough to use for sushi.
Be sure to let the rice cool before using it, or it will become rubbery on the nori.
If you are using a rice cooker and the outside of the rice gets crispy and hard, use a fork to fluff the rice and add moisture back into those crispy bits.
If you don't have seasoned rice vinegar, simmer regular rice vinegar with a pinch of sugar and salt in a saucepan until the sugar and salt dissolve. Allow to cool then use per the recipe instructions.