Crispy Rice with Spicy Shrimp Salad

The shrimp is finely chopped into small pieces and combined with kewpie mayonnaise, sriracha, a touch of soy sauce, green onion, diced jalapeño and panko breadcrumbs for some added crunch.

Ingredients:

For the crispy rice:

1½ cups short grain sushi rice

2 teaspoons mirin

1 cup Vegetable oil

For the spicy shrimp salad:

¾ pound large (21-30 count) shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

¼ cup diced green onions

¼ cup panko breadcrumbs

3 tablespoons kewpie mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sriracha

1 tablespoon diced jalapeño

1 teaspoon soy sauce

For serving:

1 medium Hass avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced

1 small jalapeño, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons eel sauce, optional

Soy sauce, as needed

Instructions:

For the crispy rice:

Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse until the water that runs out of the bottom is clear. This gets some of the starch out of the rice. In a medium saucepan, combine the rice and 2 cups (400g) of water.

Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender and the water has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with mirin and fluff the rice with a fork and let cool.

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, then spread the sushi rice evenly, pressing it down so that it is tightly packed. Transfer to the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Lift the plastic wrap from the pan, then use a knife to cut it into 8 even squares.

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet to 375°F (190ºC). Fry only a few squares of rice at a time in the pan. Cook, rotating so that the rice is golden brown on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Cut each square of crispy rice in half.

For the spicy shrimp salad:

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the oil and heat through. Add the shrimp to the pan, cooking until pink and no longer translucent, about 1 minute. Flip and continue to cook until just cooked through. Remove to a cutting board and allow to cool.

Finely chop the shrimp then add to a bowl with the green onions, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, sriracha, jalapeño and soy sauce. Stir to combine and set aside.

For serving:

Top each piece of crispy rice with a slice of avocado and a scoop of the shrimp salad. Drizzle with the eel sauce and top with a slice of jalapeño. Serve immediately with soy sauce for dipping.