By far this is my favorite thing I have made at school, plus it looks so realistic! This kind of thing is what I want to do after graduation. Eventually I would like to have my own business doing specialty desserts, cakes and pastries.
There are several components and may take a few hours to make, but it is well worth the effort. You will need the rice, fruit, marzipan, chocolate sauce, fruit leather and black sesame seeds. Tools-wise, you will need a sushi roll mat and some practice and patience. This recipe will yield about 24 maki and 12 nigiri.
Coconut Rice Pudding:
3 – 14oz cans of coconut milk
5 oz heavy cream
12 oz jasmine rice (preferred, but long grain will work as well) Rinse VERY well.
9 oz sugar
Put all ingredients into pan and cook until rice is done and all liquid has reduced. Spread onto a parchment lined sheet tray and allow to cool completely.
Fondant
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp hot water
2 tpsp corn syrup
Blend all ingredients thoroughly until sugar is completely dissolved and there are no lumps.
Marzipan
3/4 cup almond paste
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp fondant
1 tbsp + 1 tsp corn syrup
green food coloring
Mix almond paste and 1/2 the sugar. Add the fondant and corn syrup. Add the rest of the sugar, a little at a time until the marzipan is moldable and not sticky. Color marzipan with green food coloring until it resembles the color of wasabi. Roll into small balls.
Chocolate Sauce
1 cup water
5 oz sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 oz cocoa powder
8 oz dark chocolate
Combine water, sugar and corn syrup and bring to a boil to make syrup. Slowly whisk in cocoa powder so that no lumps form. Add the chocolate to the syrup and stir until melted. Pour cooled chocolate sauce into small cups to represent soy sauce.
Fruit
Using about 4 kiwi and 8-10 strawberries, you will need to cut some into strips for the maki and some squared off slices for the nigiri.
Fruit Leather
Slice thin strips of fruit leather to wrap around the nigiri.
Black Sesame Seeds
Sprinkle the sesame seeds onto your working surface and roll the maki in them.
Assembly
By looking at the picture, you can get an idea on how everything fits together. If you ever rolled sushi before, this will be easy, just do it the way you do regular sushi! For beginners, smash the rice pudding evenly onto the sushi roll mat, about 1/2 inch thick, spread almost to the the sides and maybe 6 inches tall. Lay a continuous strip of both kiwis and strawberries across, on top of each other, some where around two inches from the bottom or top. Using the roll mat as a guide, roll the rice (from the fruit side to the other) so that the fruit is wrapped up completely into a roundish tube. Using a knife, slice sections from the roll about one inch thick. Wipe the mat between rolls.
For the nigiri, form a base for the fruit. The top and bottom should be flat so that it can both stand up and leave a surface for the fruit. It should be in an oval-ish shape. Place the squared off kiwi and strawberry on the top, overlapping and secure with a strip of fruit leather.
