Potato Mochi Cat & Mackerel Sashimi – satirical sushi
Cat & Fish
Last night I wanted something fun to eat – so I made this sweet cat that I could eat with sashimi and other sushi. The cat is a variation on mochi and since cats love fish, I knew it would be appropriate to have this cat poised as if it was about to eat some great sashimi. I also made inarizushi (little fried tofu bags filled with rice) and assorted makizushi (rolled sushi). Before you start to judge me on this, I’d like to remind you of a great tradition of using molds to shape food in classical cuisine (e.g., copper mousse molds) and the equally rich Japanese tradition of molding foods (e.g., taiyaki). And Japanese dishes sometimes incorporate irony as a form of culinary humor – consider oyakodon (親子丼), a dish that can be lyrically translated as “a bowl of mother and child” because it is a rice bowl made with chicken and egg. You can see now that my cat and fish dish can be situated in a traditional context – thanks for suspending judgment and taking me seriously.
Please read on.
the dinner plate
Here is how I made the cat:
4 russet potatoes, peeled & cubed
1/4 cup of sesame oil
1 Meyer lemon
1/8 cup mochi flour
6 kuro goma (black sesame seeds) for the cat’s eyes
1 small fillet of mackerel
3 shiso leaves
Boil the potatoes, drain, and mash with a fork, forming a small mound in a bowl (like a mashed potato volcano), pour in the sesame oil and fold into the mashed potatoes, add the lemon juice, add the mocha flour while the potatoes are still hot. Let it rest, and then press into a cat mold. Carefully remove cat from mold and seat directly onto the plate you are using. Add the eyes one at a time, with the pointed ends of the seed pointing away from the cat’s nose. Cut the mackerel across the grain of the fish, and stack two pieces in front of the cat near its feet (to suggest that the cat is about to eat the fish). Roll the shiso leaves into a cigar shape, cut small strips and make a pile near the cat’s back legs. Notice that the pile of shiso leaves, the mackerel, and the cat form a horizontal triangle, this creates a sense of visual balance. The piece of mackerel that is stacked at an angle points toward the cat’s head taking the triangle into a vertical dimension, suggesting a pyramidical form. You should be able to make 3 cats from this recipe.
a regal feline: potato mochi cat adroitly poised as if to strike at any moment
The inarizushi is simple to make and I feel like it is underrated in some places which is a shame because it is completely awesome. This is a small fried tofu bag that is filled with sushi rice and kuro goma. Open the bags by sliding it around between your two fingers, peel it apart gently, stuff it firmly with rice, and fold the corners over as you set it onto the serving dish. It is sweet and juicy. The makizushi is easy, and you probably already know how to make it.
Inarizushi & Makizushi w/meyer lemon & purple carrot
Ritual: eat the cat head first, so that it doesn’t eat your sashimi!
Ryan Dewey - Kitchen Cognition 
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