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A Deep South Sushi Fusion « What We’re Eating – A Food & Recipe Blog
Southern Fusion Sushi

A Deep South Sushi Fusion

Southern Fusion Sushi
Eater rating: 4.8 / 5  4.81

Tonight we’re eating sushi with a southern flare. Our sushi was make with blanched collard greens (instead of seaweed paper), sushi rice, slowly-smothered chicken thighs, and oven-roasted okra. The sushi was served on a bed of spicy onion gravy.

T: wow, Amanda. This was seriously good. I’m excited about this one. Mmm mmm it tasted just as good as it looks!
A: hell yeah!!! i’ve been talking about making southern fusion sushi for nearly a year now. I think i dreamed this one up while procrasting about studying for an exam. finally! sweet victory is mine!
T: and mine. and anybody who makes it. Mmmm. Not only was it the best smothered chicken with gravy that you’ve made to date, but it was so damn fun to eat. It was just really well done. Props! You rock.
A: well thank ya, mister t! i’m super excited that you’re super excited.
T: This makes me really very curious about what other kinds of fusion sushi people are making out there.
A: another one that i wanted to do was a chicken mole sushi. you know how you can get sushi with thin slices of avocado placed across the top? i was thinking the chicken surrounded by the rice with the avocado on top sitting in a pool of mole. it would kind of look like real sushi too.
T: That sounds good too, fo sho. I guess what was so impressive to me about tonight’s meal was not just the clever idea of smothered chicken and roasted okra sushi, but was how well executed it was. The gravy was sooo tasty, the chicken was awesome. The okra rocked. The collard greens were amazing. Mmmm yeah, woman.
A: i’ll admit i was definately happy with the outcome of dinner tonight myself. sometimes smothered chicken just isn’t the most impressive dish in the world. this time i added a tbsp of yellow curry powder and a pinch of nutmeg, and while you couldn’t pick out either of those distinct flavors, they created a beautiful, well-rounded yumminess.
T: yes indeed. I had no clue what was in it but it was super-duper.
A: uh.. i know you didn’t just say “super-duper”
T: what’s wrong with saying super duper? That’s what it was. Ok, it was… fantabulous. how’s that?
A: that’s definately better. when i heard “super-duper” it was like my mother was talking to me. i think that’s one of her favorite phrases. somehow it just doesn’t work for our generation… it’s like “golly gee” or something.
T: don’t worry, I can speak like our generation. That sushi was hell-good.
A: 🙂 heheh i think you skipped our generation and went on down to the younger generation… i guess that just means you’re one hip mother@#$%er
T: i’m not just a hip mother@!%#er, i’m also a pimp. That’s right. I’m a pimp. I’m so pimp. I’m hell pimp. I hang out with Ashton Kutcher. Ok. I’m not pimp. I’m just trying to be a cool dude.
A: well i’m glad you’re disillusioned to the fact you’re not a pimp. i didn’t want to have to break that one to you. but babe! you’re totally a cool dude. you hang out with me don’t you? we’ve got like, at least one real-life friend. (i swear)
T: that’s right, I do hang out with you… and that makes me your pimp! giggity giggity.
A: biatch….whaaat-ever. just because i do all the cooking and cleaning doesn’t make me your ho, ho.
T: no it’s the fact that I make you give me all your money at the end of the day.
A: hehehe 😛 it’s a good thing you don’t know about my secret stash. i’m rich!
T: well… uhh… give it to me. i’m your pimp, remember?
A: oh hayell no! you ain’t my pimp… you just play one on tv.
T: if by “tv” you mean, “tyler-vision,” the happy land in Tyler’s head, yes, I play one on tv.
A: hehehe woah… where did this conversation go! first we’re talking about crazy sushi, now we’re in tyler’s head!
T: ok, now’s a perfect time to get into Tyler’s head about what he thought about the sushi. I give this one a 4.95/5. Great concept, beautiful execution, tasty tasty tasty. What else can I say.
A: wow! i’m truly blown away. i don’t think i’ve ever seen a rating of 4.95 on WWE before! now everything that i make is going to have to compare to this and the scores will certainly fall…
T: that’s why I always go ahead and set low personal standards for myself. You should try that some time.
A: hehehe uh… how’s that working for ya? has it gotten you far in life?
T: umm.. no, it hasn’t gotten me far… but since everyone in my family is totally crazy, I appear to be doing ok.
A: i hear that… who doesn’t have a crazy family….hold on… i’m the “bad-egg” in my family!
T: oh no you are not! be nice to Mandy!
A: oh i’m nice to Mandy… just ask my family i’m sure they would agree! okay… I give this meal a 4.67/5. it totally rocked for me. I just have a hard time rating anything much higher than that.
T: What would it take for you to rate something… say, 4.9/5?
A: children, move on to the next line… it would probablly take a bit of a mouth orgasm for me to rate it a 4.9/5. so far i’ve never achieved one of those… although i’ve been close for sure.
T: Indian food gets me pretty close to a foodgasm. What gets you close?
A: a well cooked rack of lamb…. some indian foods…fresh crab, done well… pretty much everything we listed in the “5 things to eat before you die” post.
T: this is fun. if anybody is still reading this, leave a comment and tell us what gives you a foodgasm/mouthgasm or whatever you call it. 😀

Peace mabibi na mabwana.

An Original Recipe, by Amanda
Southern Fusion Sushi

Smothered Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg
2 thyme twigs
1 beef bouillon cube
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 1/4 cups water
salt and pepper

Roasted Okra:
6 oz okra
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Sushi rice:
1 cup sushi rice
2 cups water
1 tsp salt

1 bunch collard greens, stems trimmed and cut in half length-wise

Begin the smothered chicken:
Heat two tbsp olive oil over med-high heat in a large skillet, preferably not teflon unless you have a plastic whisk. While the oil is heating, season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, liberally, on both sides. Once the oil is heated, place the chicken in the pan, and cook for 2 minutes (try not to move it after you first put it in the pan so you can allow the meat to caramelize), then flip the chicken and brown the other side for 2 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, slice the onion. Once the chicken is browned on both sides, remove it from the pan and set it aside. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onions to the pan. Allow the onions to saute, stirring occassionaly until the onions start to caramelize, about 15 minutes - do not allow the onions to burn. Once the onions are finished, remove them from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat up to medium and add the butter. Once the butter has completely melted, add the flour. Stir continuously, cooking the flour until the mixture turns a medium. Once the flour is browned, slowly begin to whisk in the water, adding small amounts at a time and whisking until smooth each time until all the water has been added, this is done to prevent clumping. Be careful: the mixture will bubble up rapidly when you first add the water. Add the curry, cayenne, thyme twigs, nutmeg, beef and chicken bouillon cubes, the sauted onions, and the chicken to the pan. Stir. Allow the pan to return to a boil over med-high heat then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the smothered chicken for at least 1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally and flipping the chicken from time to time. If the gravy gets too thick, simply add more water. Once the chicken is tender and starting to fall apart, taste the gravy for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary. Remove the chicken from the pan and cut (or tear) into strips for sushi stuffing.

While the chicken is stewing, make the sushi rice, roasted okra, and blanched collard greens.

Sushi Rice:
Bring the rice, salt, and water to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the rice to steam, covered, for another 10 minutes. Allow the rice to return to room tempurature and use for sushi. Do not refrigerate.

Roasted Okra:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Once the oven is heated, toss the okra with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet. Roast the okra for about 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to assemble the sushi.

Blanched Collard Greens:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then salt the water liberally. Add the trimmed collard leaves and blanch the leave for 2 minutes, max. Remove the leaves from the water and set aside until ready to assemble sushi.

Once all the elements of the sushi are ready, roll the sushi by layering a few leaves of collard greens, then a layer of sushi rice leaving a small lip at the top and bottom of the collard green layer(it's easier to work with rice if your hands are wet), a line of chicken down the middle of the rice, and a line of roasted okra next to/on top of the chicken. Roll the sushi and cut the sushi into bite-sized pieced. Repeat with the rest of ingredients. When plating the sushi, first spoon the gravy onto the plate then place the sushi rolls on the bed of gravy. Enjoy!

* How to roll sushi? Check out this tutorial.

17 comments so far:

  1. zingtrial says:

    Hi Sounds good must try it
    Thanks for sharing
    man I am hungry now He!He!He!
    Wish you well 🙂 .

  2. adam says:

    Wow. Who would have every put the words “sushi” and “gravy” in the same sentence. Amanda, that’s who.

    Nice work.

  3. Lea says:

    hahahahaha omg this is GENIOUS!

    I just totally visualize this old Japanese samurai dude…. with a straw hat and high-waters…. katana strapped to his back….. contemplating the zen of creating perfect milk gravy.

  4. Amanda says:

    Thanks zingtrial! it’s really not hard (although it is a bit time consuming, smothering things is never a quick meal). Cheers!

    Adam, thank you, thank you. i owe this one to my deep south roots. there was so much smothered chicken in lousiana. i just know there are sushi puriest around the world cursing me for this one.

    well thank you lea! it’s good to see all of my southern friends really appreciate this one 🙂 the image you’ve painted of the old samuria will probably stick with me forever. now i must end this and go follow in the ways of the samurai and meditate on the gravy

  5. Marianne says:

    This is so gorgeous, guys. Seriously, well done!

  6. Yum, this sushi looks so delicious! Beautiful!

  7. Kady says:

    What an innovative dish! It’s clever and has a sense of humor. You guys never cease to amaze me. You should def. write a cookbook.

  8. aria says:

    wait, do my eyes defy me?! wow, what a cool recipe, looks delicious to me! A+ on presentation too, YUM!

  9. michellephant says:

    This looks so super yummy and downright brilliant! As for foodgasm…I’m going go for really simple warm bread and butter…it smells awesome and is so tasty…and it’s everywhere!

  10. Nicole says:

    oh my god this has to be one of the coolest recipes I’ve ever found online! I’m not a huge sushi fan (i know, i know, there must be something wrong with me) but I am definitely going to try this one sometime! I’m not sure if I can find the collard greens and okra here in Sicily but I’m surprised by what I can find at the market sometimes. If not, I’ll substitute some other greens and maybe try some grilled zucchini spears in place of the okra. I can’t wait to try it!

  11. wow this one looks gorgeous and my first time to see a different type of sushi! cool!

  12. Amanda says:

    thanks marianne! we are still excited for you to rejoin the food blogging world (and to see your finished kitchen!)

    why thank you bea! we’ve been heckled by calling it “sushi”, but it was delicious regardless 🙂

    Kady, sometimes i think our sense of humor is lost through the cable wires, but it’s great you can see where we were coming from 🙂 and thank you thank you thank you! you are too kind with your words. i definately cease to amaze myself. daily 😉 as far as writing a cookbook is concerned…i’m ready and willing… any publishers reading this wanna take me up on it?? eh??

    thanks aria! and no… you’re eyes don’t defy you, that is definately not yo’ mamma’s sushi… assuming your mamma made sushi 🙂

    Michelle! now we know who’s the only person to read all the way through one of our silly posts 🙂 there really is very little that compares to fresh bread. i think it gets lost in my mind and covered up by more complex things but mmm…i’m starting to get a foodgasm by just thinking about it. – thanks as always chica!

    nicole, i totally think this would work with those substitutions… you could even substitute another kind of rice for the sushi rice (and omit the sushi rice seasonings of course)… the only thing that might affect is how well it sticks together. personally, sushi rice isn’t my favorite. btw, i don’t think i’ve ever received a greater compliment (considering how many recipes are on the web)! 🙂

    Thanks charles… while it looks like sushi, it definately doesn’t taste a thing like it. it was really yummy none-the-less!

  13. wow! it looks so delicious—and the colors/presentation just fantastic!
    Great work 🙂

  14. […] When I got home from the store, I made some vegetarian groundnut stew. Then I started collecting okra recipes. Here are a few: from Field to Feast, Okra with Coconut; from My Cookbook, Vendakkai/Okra Fry; from What we’re Eating, Southern Fushion Sushi ; from Happy Burp, Dum Bhindi (Okra marinated in Yogurt); and from Trembom in English, Chicken with Okra. […]

  15. raluca says:

    hmm i want that but the only original sushi if u can find for me i will be with many pleasure so thnx .for this but only i want orignal sushi :).

  16. me says:

    i just made this but using Filipino chicken adobo filling recipe and using bakchoy as wrap. i still want to know the recipe for the congealed marshmallow salad. i cant link to you my blogsite coz i don’t know if i have one or not! sorry. congelaed marshmallow salad? please?

  17. […] Roll (salmon and cream cheese in a rice and seaweed sushi roll). What We’re Eating’s Deep South Sushi Roll features smothered chicken thighs and oven-roasted okra wrapped in blanched collard greens (instead […]