While we were in Calgary last week for the re-opening of JOEY EAU CLAIRE (after their fabulous renovation) Executive Chef Chris Mills went on BT Calgary to make sushi cones with host Jill Belland.
Here is the recipe for the cones. Note: the soy wrapper is what makes these cones extra special. And the tempura prawns. And the daikon sprout. And the roe. And the Sriracha mayo. OK the whole thing is fab!
Most of the ingredients can be bought in Chinatown or at an Asian grocery store such as T&T. The soy wrappers can be bought online, but you can also use Nori, the dried seaweed sheets, which are more widely available.
Ingredients:
Cooked Sushi Rice (cook according to package instructions)
½ cup Rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Sugar
3 tsp salt
Store-bought Tempura batter
½ cup Flour
Prawns*
Oil for frying
Toasted sesame seeds
Fish roe (if desired)
Daikon radish sprout or julienne daikon radish
Cucumber, cut into 2-3 inch strips, leaving skin on, no seeds
Soy wrappers (available online) or Nori
Tube of wasabi
Store-bought Sriracha Vietnamese Mayonnaise
* To vary the cones, instead of using tempura prawns you can also use seared salmon, poached prawns, or raw tuna.
Directions:
While you are cooking your sushi rice according to the package instructions, begin making a brine. Combine sugar, salt, and rice vinegar. When rice has cooked and is cooling, season rice at a ratio of about ¼ cup of brine per cup of rice, or to taste.
Chill your store-bought tempura batter so that it is ice cold. Pour batter and flour into two separate bowls. Dredge each prawn first through the flour and then through the batter. Deep fry in a shallow fryer (frying pan or wok) for 60-90 seconds until golden brown. Set aside.
On one half of a 3”x 6” sheet of soy or Nori layout the ingredients. Start with some rice, followed by sesame seeds, cucumber, daikon, mayonnaise, one prawn, a dab of wasabi and a piece of pickled ginger.
The folding is a bit tricky to explain, but it is much easier than it sounds. We suggest that you watch the video for Chris’ tips!
Take the bottom left corner and fold it up until it is touching the middle of the top of the sheet. Holding the bottom centre, roll it around the remainder of the sheet to form a cone. Crush a kernel of cooked rice with your fingers and use it as ‘glue’ to hold the cone together.
Serve with soy sauce
Honestly, why fumble about with a cookbook when you can learn directly from the very best in the city?
If we know anything about Chef Mills (...and we think we do...), you're in for a treat if you take his class. His menu is guaranteed to be highly inventive and mouth watering, and his class is sure to be a lot of fun.
