This sushi bento is the perfect assortment of flavors. Perfect to make for an outdoor picnic!
ABOUT SUSHI BENTO
This sushi bento is the perfect meal to pack for a picnic with friends! There’s enough variety that you can cater to everyone’s tastes. Pack it with some usagi ringo (うさぎリンゴ)/bunny apples and broccoli for health and to balance out the meal. To complete the perfect picnic set, pack some sandwiches to go with the sushi and some sanshoku dango for dessert! Enjoy this for a picnic while you admire the beautiful nature, or make it to share at a get together with friends!
ABOUT INARIZUSHI
If you’re interested in the historical and cultural background of the popular inarizushi, I will explain it here! Feel free to scroll past this if you like!
Inarizushi (稲荷寿司) gets its name from the same Inari that Inari shrines are named after. If you’re familiar with Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, that is an Inari shrine. In Shintoism, Inari Ookami is the deity of foxes, rice, agriculture, fertility, and general prosperity. It is said that Inari’s shinshi (神使), meaning familiar, messenger, servant to the gods, etc. was a fox. In ancient Japan, foxes and humans lived closely together, leading to more folklore regarding foxes and more belief in the supernatural narrative around foxes. This is why many Japanese media related to folklore often include fox, or kitsune (狐), characters. (For example: Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss and Yae Miko from Genshin Impact). In folklore, it’s said that these foxes’ favorite food is aburaage, fried tofu, which is used to make inarizushi.
Documents regarding inarizushi date as far back as the Edo Period, in which it’s described as being popular during the Tenpo Period in Edo (old Tokyo) and Nagoya. There is evidence that inarizushi was made before the Tenpo Period, but it’s history is most known for being sold super cheap during the Tenpo Period. During the Tenpo Period, Japan suffered a devastating lack of crops, causing prices to increase, known as the Great Tenpo Famine. Back then, there was a shop that sold inarizushi that could only sell at night because it was considered embarrassing to eat. It became known as the cheapest sushi, leading to its popularity even after the end of the Tenpo Period. Today it is readily available not only throughout Japan, but also in many groceries here in America.
COMPONENTS OF SUSHI BENTO
All of these are completely customizable to suit your own taste!
- ☆ Kaisen Makizushi: To break down the name, Kaisen (海鮮) means “seafood,” maki (巻き) means “roll,” and zushi (寿司) is just how sushi is pronounced in this word. This makizushi consists of a variety of seafood. It consists of tuna, salmon, and ikura paired with tamagoyaki, a type of Japanese omelette, all wrapped by lettuce, rice, and seaweed.
- ☆ Inarizushi: Fried tofu pouches called aburaage, cooked in a sweet and savory soy-based sauce. It is then stuffed with sushi rice. You can enjoy it simple like this or top it with other fillings such as sesame seeds, crab, shredded egg, konbu, etc. This is very versatile, and the possibilities are endless! Feel free to customize it to your taste!
MATERIALS
- ☆ Sushi mat
- If you don’t have one, you can use a parchment paper or hand towel covered with a layer of plastic wrap to roll the kaisen makizushi. Anything with enough flexibility for you to roll that is also sturdy enough to hold the sushi works as well!
- ☆ Otoshibuta, drop lid
- If you don’t have a drop lid, you can use parchment paper. Cut a circle about the same size as the inside of your saucepan that you are using for the inarizushi and cut a small circle in the center. Simply place it on top of the aburaage when simmering.
INGREDIENTS (+ SUBSTITUTIONS)
This is a basic list and explanation of the key ingredients. For full list and measurements, please scroll down to the recipe below!
SUSHI RICE INGREDIENTS
- ☆ Sugar
- ☆ Salt
- ☆ Rice vinegar
- Made from fermented rice. If you don’t have rice vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. Keep in mind that this may change the taste a little.
- ☆ Short-grain or medium-grain rice
- I used a premium grade medium-grain rice, aka short-grain rice. Your best option is to try to find Japanese rice as sushi relies heavily on the texture and flavor of the rice. If you have other kinds of rice, I’m not sure if the taste and texture would be the same.
KAISEN MAKIZUSHI INGREDIENTS
I want to be very transparent with this, so as a disclaimer, I want to clarify that these ingredients can be quite pricey. I live in an area where seafood is more accessible, but I understand that for some people, seafood can cost more. Even so, the ingredients for this were also expensive for me. I made this for a special occasion, so I justified it with that as it’s just once in a while. If you would still like to try making this sushi bento, I will list some alternatives below, but also feel free to use whatever you like!
- ☆ Nori seaweed
- Keep in mind that this is the big roasted seaweed sheets and not the same as the seaweed used for wakame soup!
- ☆ Tuna sashimi
- I used bluefin tuna, but whatever you can find is good! This is one of the main flavors of this sushi, but typically this is pretty expensive, so you can replace it with more salmon, other kinds of sushi grade fish, cucumber, imitation crab, or whatever else you like! Another little life hack is if you take avocado and pour a little soy sauce over it, it tastes like tuna! Give it a try if you like!
- ☆ Salmon sashimi
- Sushi grade salmon. Salmon is one of the main parts of this sushi, but you can substitute it with anything you like to put in sushi, such as imitation crab, cucumber, avocado, etc.
- ☆ Ikura
- Red caviar made from the roe harvested from salmon. If you can’t find or don’t want ikura, you can replace it with more salmon, other kinds of sashimi fish, cucumber, imitation crab, or whatever else you like!
- ☆ Tamagoyaki
- Japanese egg omelette made by beating eggs with sake, sugar, mirin, and a little salt. If you don’t consume alcohol, you can substitute water for sake and rice vinegar or non-alcoholic mirin for the mirin.
- ☆ Green lettuce
- This adds freshness and brightens the kaisen makizushi. You can omit it if you like.
INARIZUSHI INGREDIENTS
- ☆ Aburaage
- Fried tofu pouches. This is the base of inarizushi, so you can’t substitute it. If you cannot find it, you can make it yourself by slicing firm tofu thinly and deep frying it.
- ☆ Sugar
- ☆ Soy sauce
- ☆ Mirin
- If you do not consume alcohol, you can use non-alcoholic mirin! If you can’t find, you can use rice vinegar.
TIPS FOR MAKING SUSHI BENTO
- ☆ Always make sure that the fish you will be consuming raw is sushi grade. If you prepare it at home to be used for sushi, it’s hard to guarantee the safety. Please keep this in mind!
- ☆ When rolling the kaisen makizushi, be careful not to squeeze too hard or the fillings may come out. Additionally, make sure to let the roll rest before slicing otherwise the fillings may come out as well.
- ☆ You can lightly massage the aburaage by flattening with the heel of your palm or rolling with a rolling pin before the first boil to make opening the pouches easier.
CHECK OUT MY OTHER OUTDOOR PICNIC RECIPES! ♡
MORE SAVORY JAPANESE RECIPES! ♡
If you recreate this Outdoor Picnic Sushi Bento recipe, please let me know by tagging me or leaving a comment on Instagram @maruryouri or TikTok @atsuryouri. I’d love to see your creations and hear your feedback!
Sushi Bento (Outdoor Picnic Set)
Equipment
- Sushi mat
- Otoshibuta, drop lid
Ingredients
Sushi Rice
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 400 g cooked short-grain rice or medium-grain rice about 2 rice cups uncooked
Kaisen Makizushi
- 2 sheets nori seaweed approx. 19.5cm x 21cm
- 40 g bluefin tuna sashimi
- 40 g salmon sashimi
- 50 g ikura
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons sake or water
- 1 teaspoon mirin
- Pinch of salt
- 2 leaves of lettuce
Inarizushi
- 4 – 5 pieces of aburaage Japanese fried tofu
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
Instructions
Sushi Rice
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, salt, and rice vinegar until completely dissolved.
- While the rice is still warm after cooking, slowly incorporate the seasoning. Pour the seasoning bit by bit, mixing in between each addition using a slicing and folding motion. It’s ok to have left over liquid if the rice tastes well seasoned enough. Divide in half and set aside.
Kaisen Makizushi
- First, prepare the tamagoyaki. In a small bowl, combine the egg, sake or water, mirin, and a pinch of salt. Lightly oil a small frying pan and heat to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, pour the egg mixture in the pan and tilt the pan to spread the egg thinly and evenly. When the egg is about halfway cooked, carefully start to roll from one side to the opposite side using a spatula. Remove the tamagoyaki from the pan and slice vertically, creating two strips about 1cm in thickness each, and set aside.
- Prepare your tuna and salmon in a similar size. Their lengths should be about the same and also about 1cm in thickness.
- On a sushi mat (if you have one), lay down one sheet of nori seaweed shiny side down. Spread half of the sushi rice evenly on the sheet of nori, leaving a space at the top about 3cm wide.
- Lay down one leaf of lettuce to cover all the rice. If the lettuce won’t lie flat, you can flatten it by rolling with a rolling pin or by using the heel of your palm.
- Slightly below the center of the lettuce, lay down the strip of salmon. Directly above the salmon, spoon on about half of the ikura in a 1cm wide row. Below the salmon, lay down the strip of tuna. You can also place it on top of the salmon, but I found it a bit easier for me to roll when arranged like this. Finally, place one of the strips of tamagoyaki onto the ikura. How you wish to arrange is completely up to you, so feel free to do what works best for you.
- Roll tightly from the front, slightly pressing to keep the ingredients in place. Let rest for a few minutes before cutting the sushi into 1cm slices.
- Repeat steps 3-6 to make another kaisen makizushi in the same way, and the kaisen makizushi is done! 完成です！
Inarizushi
- Cut the aburaage in half and boil for about 1 minute to remove the oil and help to open the pouches. Strain and rinse with cold water to cool down. Squeeze each pouch individually to remove the excess water and continue to let drip while preparing the marinade.
- In a separate container, combine the water, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Carefully open each aburaage pouch and arrange the pouches on the bottom of a saucepan. Pour the sauce mixture over the aburaage, making sure to scrape out the sugar that could be stuck on the bottom. Place an otoshibuta or perforated parchment circle over the aburaage and simmer for about 10 minutes and only a little sauce remains. Strain and let cool.
- Use the remaining 200g of the sushi rice to fill the inarizushi and portion by the number of aburaage pouches you have. If you used 5 sheets of aburaage, then each inarizushi should have about 20g of rice. If you used 4 sheets, then each should have about 25g of rice. Wet your hands using the excess sauce and squeeze the portions of rice tightly in an oblong ball. Open the aburaage pouch and gently push the rice inside. Continue shaping the inarizushi until the rice is evenly distributed and tuck away the excess flaps.
- Repeat step 3 until you’ve finished filling all the aburaage, and the inarizushi is done! 完成です！