Ehou-maki (Futomaki Sushi) for Setsubun. Optionally serve with wasabi and soy sauce for dipping. Remember that for a ehou maki you must not cut the roll. But if you're making a futomaki for a regular day, cut off the ragged ends (which go in your mouth) and cut.

Most popular one is a lucky-direction big sushi roll called Ehou- maki. We turn to the lucky direction of this year, and bite whole sushi roll. Futomaki or Maki Sushi is a traditional thick and fat sushi roll typically filled with vegetables and sometimes include cooked fish like unagi. You can cook Ehou-maki (Futomaki Sushi) for Setsubun using 23 ingredients and 13 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Ehou-maki (Futomaki Sushi) for Setsubun

You need of [Others].
You need 1 of Cucumber.
Prepare 30 of to 40 grams Cream cheese.
You need 6 of Crab sticks.
Prepare 1 of to 2 leaves Lettuce leaves.
It's 1 tbsp of Black sesame seeds.
It's 2 of whole sheets Nori seaweed.
Prepare of [Dashi-maki omelette].
Prepare 2 of Eggs.
Prepare 1 tbsp of Sugar.
You need 40 ml of Japanese dashi stock.
It's 1/2 tsp of Soy sauce (usukuchi soy sauce if you have it).
Prepare of [Sushi vinegar].
It's 2 of and 1/2 tablespoons Sugar.
It's 2 tbsp of Vinegar.
Prepare 1 tsp of or less Salt (4 g).
You need of [Dried bonito flakes with soy sauce].
It's 2 small of packets of bonito flakes (3 grams each).
You need 2 tsp of Soy sauce.
It's of [Sushi rice].
Prepare 270 ml of Uncooked white rice.
You need 1 of Water (as needed).
It's 1 of sheet (1 x 3 cm square) Kombu seaweed.

Each family chooses different fillings for futomaki. Ehou Maki is a special type of sushi roll. Ordinary Ehou Makis are eaten for good fortune, but the famous sushi artisan and fortuneteller Monchy can use the Ehou Maki to locate specific rare ingredients. It marks the start of the spring season or _risshun_ (立春) in Japan according to the old · Sushi rice is not just for making sushi!

Ehou-maki (Futomaki Sushi) for Setsubun instructions

Wash the rice at least 30 minutes before cooking and drain in a sieve. Add a little less water than usual to the rice cooker and add the konbu seaweed. Press start to cook the rice. Remove the konbu after the rice is cooked and leave to stand for 15 minutes..
Put together the sushi vinegar ingredients in a heat proof dish and microwave for 20 seconds at 500 W to warm up. Stir the mixture with a spoon to dissolve the sugar and leave to cool..
Transfer the cooked rice to a large bowl or wooden sushi tub. Pour in the sushi vinegar, incorporate with the rice and sprinkle on black sesame seeds. Stir the rice quickly in a cutting motion and cool down by using a fan at the same time..
Prepare the fillings! While draining the rice in a sieve and cooking the rice you will need to prep the fillings..
[Dashi-maki omelette] Combine the ingredients well and heat vegetable oil in a tamagoyaki pan. Divide the egg mixture into several portions and pour portion by portion into the frying pan to make an omelet. After frying, leave to cool. Slice into long strips about 1 cm wide..
[Dried bonito flakes with soy sauce] Combine the ingredients..
Slice the cucumber into thick strips and sprinkle with salt (not listed) to remove water. Squeeze out excess water. Cut the cream cheese into 8 mm wide sticks. Take out the crab sticks from packaging. Wash the lettuce and drain well. Tear into bite sizes..
Let's roll the sushi! If using a bamboo sushi mat, place it in front of you with the outer side (green and flat) up. You don't want on the opposite side. Place the nori sheet with the shiny side down lengthwise onto the sushi mat..
Spread half of the sushi rice from Step 3 (about 250 g) on the centre of the nori sheet. Leave a 2-3 cm border as a joint at the edge of the nori sheet away from you and about 1 cm border at the edge in front of you. Moisten your hands with the blend of vinegar and water (refer to the notes) and spread out the rice to an even thickness..
Place the lettuce slightly below the centre of the rice and lay the cucumber, cream cheese, dried bonito flakes with soy sauce, omelet and crab sticks on top..
Press the filling gently and lift up the edge of the mat in front of you and roll up at once to stick both sides of the rice together. Adjust the shape of the sushi roll by pressing gently and evenly over the mat..
Pull the edge of the mat away from you and roll the sushi so both ends of the nori overlap together. Push back in any fillings that fall out of either end..
Every time you slice a sushi roll, moisten the blade of your knife with tea towel moistened with some vinegar-water or regular water..

Another cool way to use it is making Onigiri, aka Japanese stuffed rice balls. People will eat these giant rolls for dinner, and there are certain unique rules to follow. Futomaki Sushi Roll (太巻き) is is a large cylindrical piece, with nori on the outside. A typical futomaki is three or four centimeters During the Setsubun festival, it is traditional in Kansai to eat uncut futomaki in its cylindrical form, where it is particularly called ehou-maki ( 恵方. Ehou Maki is a delicious HUGE uncut sushi roll made specially for Setsubun.