Sushi Party: Kawaii Sushi Made Easy!

In this charming recipe collection, chef Kawasumi delves into Kawaii, the art of making sushi into cute, decorative shapes. He includes thorough instructions, including how to cook rice to the perfect level of chewiness, work safely with raw seafood, balance the correct proportion of rice to nori, and use a sushi mat for rolling. The dyeing of white rice is achieved with such ingredients as mentaiko (pollock roe marinated in a chili pepper sauce) and nozawana-zuke pickle, which provides the pink and green hues of a charming “sushi wedge” that resembles a slice of watermelon, complete with “seeds” of black sesame. A chapter on animal-shaped rolls includes monkeys with pickled carrot noses and smiling dolphins crafted from fish cakes. There are also beautiful chirashizushi, or miniature paintings, with shallow boxes of rice acting as the canvas; notable among these is one that features a fiery sky of fish roe surrounding a Mount Fuji made of mackerel. This appealing cookbook will delight those looking to add a creative twist to their kitchen routines. (Mar.)