Thursday, March 19, 2009

Heart Shaped Salmon & Shrimp Maki

As a child I had a true affinity for eating things shaped liked other things. Dino Nuggets? check. Peeps? check. Star shaped fish sticks? check.

I must confess that my affinity hasn't gone away, but luckily for all of us I've progressed to less processed, more tasty foods shaped like other things. My latest attempt? Heart Shaped Maki, of course.

Heart Shaped MakiOk, ok. So they may look like the hearts you drew in grade school when you couldn't quite get the shape right. ...but, they're still cute don't you think?

These rolls are filled with a combo of sauteed shrimp & salmon and topped with a dollop of sweet chili sauce. Some households may fly through bottles of condiments such as ketchup or mustard, but in our house we consume sweet chili sauce for sustenance. Mae Ploy is our personal fav.

Heart Shaped Sushi with Salmon & ShrimpBack to the heart shaped sushi. My Mom (uh, and me) are kitchen gadget freaks. I mean, the Magic Bullet is still one of my favorite kitchen toys. In any case, she sent me a Sushi Maker she recently saw a demo of. Consisting of a series of plastic molds and guides, the sushi maker allows you to make the traditional round maki, square shaped maki, and the lovely heart maki you must be oohing and ahhing over.

Heart Shaped Sushi
I think we still need some practice to get the rice / filling amounts right in the molds, but this is an addicting new hobby. Rolling sushi with a mat isn't difficult, but stuffing molds is oh so much fun!

Though we've used different sushi rice recipes in the past, I tried out Pioneer Woman's and was quite happy with it. I did end up with way more sushi rice seasoning (su) than I needed, so use it judiciously and don't saturate your rice.

See this previous post for filling & rice cooking ideas!

43 comments:

Sara said...

These are so cute! I've always wanted to learn to make sushi, one of these days I am actually going to try it.

Esi said...

Such cute little sushi hearts! I go through sweet chili sauce a lot myself, this seems like a fantastic use for it. I really gotta try making my own sushi soon.

Elyse said...

These are so precious! (I will totally admit to eating star-shaped fish sticks and dino chicken nuggets.) I love sushi anyway, but your heart-shaped sushi just takes the cake. Man, are these adorable or what?!

Miette said...

Your sushi hearts are so lovely ! I couldn't eat them, they are so cute ;-) ! What a dilemma ! They sound gorgeous too ! And I love sushi, maki, sashimi... ;-) Very very gorgeous again ! Wow, great job !

Cheers,

Miette

Unknown said...

I think I am going to have to get a sushi maker. Every time I try to make it, it falls apart. This looks great!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Aww so adorable!!

Anonymous said...

these are SO cute! i love all things heart-shaped :)

Pam said...

They are very cute and look super tasty too.

Dewi said...

I think they are perfect already Sharon. I don't have a sushi maker, my only gadget for this is the bamboo mat for rolling the sushi.
Cheers,
elra

Anonymous said...

Those are adorable! What a beautiful surprise on the plate these would be! Beautiful.

Culinary Wannabe said...

Too cute! Going to have to put this away for Valentine's next year.

Anonymous said...

I'm eating sushi right now, but I think I would like it much better if it were shaped into cute hearts!

vanillasugarblog said...

I love that sushi maker! How fun! I still have yet to get the magic bullet. You love it that much? So it's a good buy?
These sushi are too cute to eat you know.

The Blonde Duck said...

Holy crap! I forgot about dino nuggets till now!

Netts Nook said...

I posted sushi a couple of weeks ago yours looks much more appealing. Love it.

Anonymous said...

Love the heart shape! My boyfriend and I made salmon sushi on Valentine's Day - we should have made the heart shape! :) Did you have a special heart mold? Unfortunately the sushi maker link doesn't work.

Sophie said...

How fun! I don't think I've ever had star-shaped fish sticks :D. I am a fan of all things heart-shaped, these are very cute.

MaryBeth said...

OMG....These are so totally cute!!

Sharon said...

Dawn, yes the magic bullet is great for making smoothies. They advertise 1,527,329 other uses for it, but we just stick to the smoothie making :)

Hillary, sorry the link has been fixed. Yes, it's a sushi maker that has a heart shaped mold. Why didn't I think of that?!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I love them. So cute!

Kerstin said...

Oh wow - they are so cute! Nicely done!

Emily said...

They're lovely! I think the heart shaped sushi is cute!

Tammy said...

What a cute little dish with so many applications- romantic dinner, treat for the kids, etc. Thanks for sharing your sushi experience with us!

Clumbsy Cookie said...

OMG how cute are those?! Perfect for a Valentines day! Or any day actually, ahahah!

Meghan said...

These are so adorable! Great for a romantic night at home :) I love sweet chilli sauce and use Mae Ploy too - actually have two recipes coming up that use it!

grace said...

it seems like all you have to do to make food appealing to me is form it into a heart. i say this because i don't like shrimp or salmon, but i want your sushi. :)

Mo said...

Sharon, I think this may literally be my favorite post ever!

Now I WANT one of those sushi making kits! My homemade sushi rolls look pathetic compared to these little pieces of love maki!

Great photos again!

Jennifer said...

Speaking of peeps: new contest involving PEEPS at my blog.

Coleens Recipes said...

I'm so glad to see you used sauteed salmon. I live in Alaska and I shudder at the idea of eating raw salmon.

tigerfish said...

They look cute! :D I seldom make sushi. Thanks for the nice ideas.

priscilla joy said...

That is adorable! My Dad and sister would love this, since they are huge sushi fans.

La Bella Cooks said...

Cute food is always appetizing, just ask my kids! I admit, I haven't tried much sushi but if mine looked like this, it would definitely get me to try it once again. They truly look yummy.

test it comm said...

Great looking sushi! I like the heart shape.

Simones Kitchen said...

I love those! Great shapes too. Thanks for visiting my blog Sharon! I love yours!!

kat said...

OMG those are so cute! Totally love it

RecipeGirl said...

How DARLING!! How cute would these be for Valentine's Day, huh? You're so creative :)

White on Rice Couple said...

Those are awesome. I could see them topped with some sea urchin or salmon roe. Ohhhh tasty and cute too.

MaryBeth said...

Please stop over for a visit, I have an award for you.

Cate said...

Oh my gosh, they are too adorable! Love them!

Bunny said...

These are adorable Sharon! I've never made sushi before, I'll have to ask hubby if he'd like to try it!

Ana Powell said...

Hi Sharon
So beautiful, I will have to learn to make sushi.
Really lovely x

Anonymous said...

So cute! I would even say that the salmon in your maki is also heart-healthy with the omega-3 fatty acids in them! :)

Jamie said...

I am also a sucker for heart-shaped things (check out my two Valentine's Day posts on my blog!). These are simply adorable and so wonderful for a special occasion! The sushi part looks delish as well!