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Happy International Sushi Day!

Today is International Sushi Day and a perfect excuse to treat yourself to delicious homemade Sanrio-themed sushi! 
Hi, everyone! I’m Michael, a San Francisco Bay Area-based food blogger and home chef! My goal is to inspire people to create food that is not only delicious but are beautiful works of art. My motto is that you can play with your food and eat it too. Looking for more easy and fun food art recipes? Visit and follow along on my Instagram page (@betweenspoonfuls)!
Today I’m sharing three simple sushi-inspired recipes that are sure to please everyone at the dinner table whether they like raw fish or not because they are also inspired by my favorite Sanrio friends!
  • Hello Kitty Sushi Rolls
  • Cinnamoroll Nigiri Sushi
  • LittleTwinStars Inari Sushi
And with summer around the corner, there's no better idea than to pack up delicious sushi creations in adorable Sanrio bento boxes and have a picnic in the park. You can purchase these cute bento boxes and more at Sanrio.com!
Let’s get started!

 

Hello Kitty Sushi Rolls (7 pieces)

Sushi roll Ingredients
  • 1 ½ cup of cooked and seasoned sushi rice
  • 1 sheet of nori seaweed
  • Soy sauce and wasabi (for dipping)
    Hello Kitty Face Details Ingredients
    • 1 slice of yellow pickled radish (Takuan)
    • 3-4 pieces of imitation crab
    • ¼ sheet of nori seaweed
    Recommended Tools
    • Bamboo sushi rolling mat
    • Kitchen knife
    • Multi-purpose nori cutter or kitchen shears
    • Kitchen tweezers 
    Sanrio.com items:
    Directions
    1. Start by preparing Hello Kitty’s face details. Using a multi-purpose nori cutter or kitchen shears, cut 14 pea-sized oval shapes out of the nori seaweed for Hello Kitty’s eyes.
    2. Continue to cut out 7 oval shapes out of the yellow pickled radish for Hello Kitty’s nose.
    3. Lastly, cut out 21 small circles out of the imitation crab pieces for Hello Kitty’s red ribbon.
    Tip: Don’t have any nori cutters at home? Get creative! You can also use other kitchen tools (even the end tips of straws) to cut out shapes for the face details.
    1. Next, construct the sushi roll. Take one cup of cooked sushi rice and spread it onto one piece of nori seaweed, leaving half an inch of space from the one end of the nori sheet. Use small amounts of water and rice vinegar to help spread the rice if it gets too sticky.
    2. Using the bamboo sushi rolling mat, gently roll the nori to shape it into a round log. Use a small amount of water on the empty half an inch space on the nori to close the roll.
    3. Continue to use the rolling mat to shape the log by pinching it so that it has a rounded triangle profile and a top ridgeline.
    4. Using a sharpened kitchen knife, cut the sushi roll in seven pieces.
    5. Using the kitchen tweezers, add on Hello Kitty’s face details.

      Cinnamoroll Nigiri Sushi (4 pieces)
      Nigiri Sushi Ingredients
      • 1 cup of cooked and seasoned sushi rice
      • 4 pieces of sushi grade fish or sushi shrimp
      • ¼ sheet of nori seaweed (For Cinnamoroll’s face details)
      • Wasabi (Optional) 
      Recommended Tools
      • Multi-purpose nori cutter or kitchen shears
      • Kitchen tweezers
      • Plastic wrap

      Sanrio.com items:
      Directions
      1. Start by preparing Cinnamoroll’s face details. Using a multi-purpose nori cutter or kitchen shears, cut 8 oval shapes out of the nori seaweed for Cinnamoroll’s eyes.
      2. Continue to cut out a small “w” shape out of the nori seaweed for Cinnamoroll’s mouth.
      3. Take an approximate tablespoon of rice and use plastic wrap to shape it into an oval piece. Repeat to create 4 oval pieces for Cinnamoroll’s rice ball heads, ears, and hands.
      4. Take an approximate ½ tablespoon of sushi rice and use plastic wrap to shape it into long oval pieces. Repeat to create 8 oval pieces for Cinnamoroll’s rice ball ears.
      5. Take a pinch of sushi rice (and use plastic wrap, if needed) to shape into pea-sized balls. Repeat to create 8 balls for Cinnamoroll’s rice ball hands.
      6. Next, construct the nigiri rice pod. Take an approximate 1 ½ tablespoon of sushi rice and mold it using plastic wrap.
      7. Add the sushi grade raw fish or shrimp to the top of the rice pod. Using plastic wrap, gently shape the pieces together.
      Optional: Spread a small amount of wasabi between the topping and rice pod for a spicy kick.
      1. Add the rice ball pieces to the top of the nigiri sushi to construct Cinnamoroll’s shape.
      2. Using the kitchen tweezers, add on Cinnamoroll’s face details.

        LittleTwinStars Inari Sushi (4 pieces)
        Inari Sushi Ingredients
        • 3 ½ cups of cooked sushi rice
        • 1 tablespoon butterfly pea powder
        • 1 tablespoon beetroot powder
        • 1 tablespoon maca powder
        • 1 cup of warm water
        • 1 slice yellow cheese
        • ¼ sheet nori seaweed
        • 4 inari tofu pockets
        Recommended Tools
        • Multi-purpose nori cutters or kitchen shears
        • Plastic wrap
        Sanrio.com items:

          Directions
          1. Start by preparing LittleTwinStars’s face details. Using a multi-purpose nori cutter or kitchen shears, cut 8 circles out of the nori sheet for LittleTwinStars’s eyes.
          2. Continue to cut out 4 “u” shapes out of the nori seaweed for LittleTwinStars’s smiles.
          3. Continue to cut out 4 star shapes out of the slice of yellow cheese.
          4. Now, prepare the natural food coloring for the sushi rice. For the blue rice, mix the butterfly pea powder and a few tablespoons of warm water until the powder is dissolved completely. Mix the blue food coloring with about 1 cup of sushi rice. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
          5. For the pink rice, mix the beetroot powder and a few tablespoons of warm water until the powder is dissolved completely. Mix the pink food coloring with about 1 cup of sushi rice. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
          6. For the skin-toned rice, mix the maca powder and a few tablespoons of warm water until the powder is dissolved completely. Mix the beige food coloring with about 1 ½ cups of sushi rice.
          7. Divide the blue and pink sushi rice in half. Use plastic wrap to shape each piece into ovals for the hair.
          8. Divide the beige sushi rice in four quarters. Take a couple of pinches of each quarter to save to make small rice balls for the hands. With the remaining quarter pieces, use plastic wrap to shape the beige sushi rice into 4 large oval balls.
          9. Place each blue and pink sushi rice pieces on top of each beige rice balls. Use the plastic wrap to help mold it into the right shape.
          10. Carefully take the inari pouch and open it and place each rice ball carefully inside. Avoid ripping the inari pouch.
          11. Place the face details onto the rice balls. Use the rice you set aside for the hands and place the pieces of cheese between the rice balls to make it look like they are holding the stars.
          And enjoy!

           For more supercute Sanrio product to make with your sushi click here.

           

           

          Please note: Sanrio has invited, but does not necessarily endorse, the comments of this guest blogger. Any ideas or instructions for homemade products featuring Hello Kitty or other Sanrio characters are authorized for personal use only. A separate license from Sanrio is always required to sell or distribute any products featuring Hello Kitty or other Sanrio characters.  The contents of this blog are the copyrighted works of Sanrio.