Philadelphia Chirashi Sushi Tacos

Chirashi sushi tacos are the perfect way to celebrate Hinamatsuri!

These Philadelphia chirashi sushi tacos have nori roasted seaweed “toritillas” topped with sushi rice, cream cheese, thin sliced egg crepes, slices of cucumber, and smoked salmon roses!

You might be wondering, what is chirashi sushi? 

Chirashi (meaning to scatter in Japanese) is a type of sushi where it is neither rolled or made into bite sized nigiri sushi. It consists of a bed of sushi rice and topped with a variety of scattered ingredients like fish and vegetables.

What makes it a Philadelphia chirashi sushi comes from the cream cheese and smoked salmon toppings. I happen to love Philadelphia rolls (cream cheese and smoked salmon sushi rolls) when I go to sushi restaurants in the U.S. They are actually an American invention and not a common sushi option in Japan.

Before we get to the recipe…

Let me explain why chirashi sushi is important during this time of year!  March 3rd is Hinamatsuri, or girls day in Japan. Girls in Japan take out a set of dolls, sometimes passed down through generations, representing a traditional wedding in the Heian period of Japanese history. The girls will celebrate by eating chirashi sushi and other traditional colorful foods! 

When I was growing up, grandma Tanuki would send a huge box every year to the U.S. filled with Hinamatsuri goodies. I still remember how much it meant to me that my grandmother would send this box. It would have the typical foods and snacks for Hinamatsuri such as:  a three colored diamond shaped mochi (hishi mochi), sweet non alcoholic sake (amazake), and cute pink, white, and green rice crackers (hina arare). 

Recipe for Philadelphia Chirashi Sushi Tacos

Note: scroll down below this recipe for how to make more traditional chirashi sushi along with other creative options! 

Yields: about 6 sushi tacos

Ingredients:

Note: If unfamiliar with any of these ingredients scroll to the very bottom of the page! 

🍣6 baking cups for cupcakes/muffins to place your “tacos” 

For the sushi rice:

🍣150g of sushi rice

🍣200 ml of water

🍣30 ml of sushi vinegar (more or less to taste)

For the toppings (except the egg) and the nori seaweed “tortillas”:

🍣80 g of cream cheese softened or left at room temp

🍣 least 6 thin slices of cucumber

🍣2 sheets of roasted seaweed yaki nori

🍣3-4 slices of smoked salmon

For the thinly sliced egg crepes (Kinshi Tamago):

Note: It’s possible to only use eggs and omit the seasonings if you don’t have it on hand.

🍣2 eggs

🍣1 ml soy sauce

🍣1 ml dashi powder

🍣5 ml water

🍣1 tablespoon of oil

Directions:

For the sushi rice:

1. Cook 150 grams of sushi rice with 200 ml water either in a rice cooker or pot. You can consult the directions on the package for how to best cook the rice. The important thing is that you are using sushi rice. Note: while rice is cooking I highly recommend to prepare the toppings!

2. Once the rice is done, transfer to a bowl and add about 30 ml of the sushi vinegar. Add more or less to taste, if you think it might be bit too much it’s probably just right!

3. Mix the rice with the vinegar. Gently mix, without smushing the rice, by scooping from the bottom of the bowl and putting it on top and repeating. 

For the toppings (except the egg) and seaweed:

1.Take out about 80 grams of cream cheese and set it on the table. Soften it by mixing it around with a spoon, letting it get to room temperature, or microwaving it 5-10 seconds. Just make sure that the cream cheese is somewhat spreadable.

2. Slice about 6 thin slices of cucumber and cut them further into little triangles. About 8 little triangles per one slice of cucumber.

3. Cut each square of seaweed into 4 squares by folding it, you should have a total of 8 small squares. Either tear it by hand or use scissors. There should be two squares left over. Just much on it or save it for later!

4. Take out a couple slices of smoked salmon and cut them into triangular strips. Roll them into little roses, I put three on each taco so you should make about 18. Note: if this seems too difficult or time consuming you can just cut the salmon into little pieces and top the taco. I just think it looks nice like this:).

For the thin sliced egg crepes or Kinshi tamago:

1. In a bowl mix two eggs, dashi powder, soy sauce, and water.

2. Put oil in a frying pan and heat to around medium high and spread out the oil using a clean paper towel. You can use this paper towel to re oil the pan after cooking each thin layer of egg.

3. Once the pan is heated enough (make sure heat is not too low! ) add about a quarter of the egg liquid into the pan and swirl it around so that the egg covers the entire pan as thinly as possible.

4. As soon as the egg is cooked, it should only take a minute or so, empty it on to a cutting board. Note: if you pour too much and the egg is still raw you can also try to flip it over to cook the other side! This part takes some practice, try not to break the circular thin crepe.

5. Re-oil the pan using the paper towel and repeat the same process until you have used all of the egg mixture. With two eggs I could make about 4 sheets of eggs.

6. Once the egg sheets have cooled a bit, fold them into thirds. (should look kind of like a burrito!) Then take a knife and cut it thinly. Leave it to the side to top the sushi tacos later. You will probably have leftovers of this but just munch munch or save for more sushi later! 

Finally the assembly of the chirashi sushi tacos:

1. Place a baking cup in front of you.

2. Take a square of the cut seaweed into your hand and put a scoop or so of rice. I think it works better if you mold it a bit/squish it with your hand so that the rice gets packed down. Just fold the four corners inward to the middle to compact the rice.  Put it on top of the baking cup!

3. Spread the cream cheese on top of the rice, but try not to forcefully spread the cheese. Don’t worry if it doesn’t spread evenly and it is also ok if it’s more like dabbing the cream cheese on top. It helps if you use the edges of the nori seaweed to get the cream cheese off of the knife. 

4. Top the “taco” with the thin sliced egg crepe, about 8 tiny pieces of the cut cucumbers, and and finally the salmon roses. 

5. Repeat the entire process until you run out of rice and seaweed! Enjoy the Philadelphia chirashi sushi tacos! Note: it’s a bit messy to eat so make sure you have a plate and maybe some utensils!

Do you want to make traditional chirashi sushi or get even more creative? It is very simple!  

You can easily make traditional chirashi sushi by putting the sushi rice into bowls or one large bowl. Top with the thinly sliced egg crepes, chopped cucumber, chopped smoked salmon, and nori seaweed cut into small flakes. You can omit the cream cheese or top the chirashi sushi with chopped creamed cheese.

Creative options: Optional toppings include avocado, other types of raw fish, boiled snow peas, and anything you can think of! Chirashi sushi can be very creative so use your imagination. I once made a chirashi sushi birthday cake: just put the sushi rice into a cake pan to get the shape and top top top with colorful ingredients!

List of possibly unfamiliar Japanese Ingredients: 

Sushi Rice

This type of rice is a Japanese white rice that is characterized by its slight stickiness. The stickiness is crucial for making sushi. As long as the rice is a Japanese white rice any product should work. In the U.S. they also sell California grown Japanese rice which is also very good!

Sushi Vinegar

This vinegar is a seasoned/sweetened rice vinegar. Making sushi is easy with this vinegar because you can directly mix it into the rice. It’s also possible to make sushi vinegar from unseasoned rice vinegar. Just shoot me a message if you only have plain rice vinegar and I can tell you how to make it!

Roasted Seaweed Yaki Nori

Yaki nori are sheets of seaweed dried into squares and roasted. It is used wrap sushi, onigiri, and to top various Japanese dishes. The one I found on Amazon comes in a pack of 50 which might be a bit too much for someone just starting Japanese cooking. Just check an Asian grocery store for smaller packages. The important thing is to look for a square package with black sheets, that says yaki nori or roasted seaweed on it!

Dashi Powder

I use this Ajinomoto soup stock when I am in a hurry and when I only need a little bit for the flavor. Of course it doesn’t taste as good as a bonito broth made from fresh bonito flakes, but it is extremely convenient! It can be used in many different recipes from soups or to add some umami to any dish!

For vegetarians out there, I recommend this kelp based broth powder. It can be an easy way to increase umami levels with only plant based products.

Finally, my all time favorite dashi powder is by Kayanoya. It is a bit pricy but the difference in flavor is incredible and it tastes just as good as making the broth from scratch. If you decide that you want to use dashi powder often, I recommend investing in this wonderful dashi powder.

Other Japanese American Recipes! 

Check out my fried tofu pizza (link) or Japanese Thousand Island Dressing (link) for more Japanese American recipes!