Chirashi sushi

Chirashi sushi is a Japanese dish of vinegared sushi rice served in a bowl with a loose topping of raw fish, egg and vegetables scattered across the rice. The name means "scattered sushi".

What it really is

Chirashi sushi is built on sushi rice, short-grain rice cooked and mixed while warm with a dressing of rice vinegar, sugar and salt. The rice is spread in a wooden tub or bowl and fanned to cool, then topped with sliced raw fish such as tuna, sea bream, salmon or squid, along with thin egg omelette strips, shredded cucumber, carrot, lotus root or shiitake mushrooms, and often pickled ginger and nori. Unlike nigiri or maki, the ingredients are not formed into single pieces; they are arranged over the top of the rice and eaten from the bowl.

Chirashi sushi is different from inari sushi, which uses fried tofu pouches filled with rice, and from gomoku sushi, a related mixed-rice dish that has its ingredients cooked into the rice itself. Regional and home versions vary widely in their toppings, and some use cooked seafood or simmered vegetables instead of raw fish.

How it's served

• Served at room temperature in an individual bowl or lacquered box, with the topping arranged over the rice.
• Eaten with chopsticks, mixing the toppings into the rice or taking each topping with some rice.
• Traditionally eaten at celebrations, festivals and family gatherings, and sometimes in the spring.
• Served with clear soup or green tea, with pickled ginger on the side.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the rice and the toppings, for example "sushi rice topped with tuna, sea bream, egg omelette and cucumber".
• List fish and egg allergens: contains FISH and EGG; the sushi rice contains sulphites from the rice vinegar only if the menu wants to flag it.
• State whether the fish is raw or cooked, and whether the dish is served with wasabi.
• Note that the dish is not a vegetarian dish when it contains fish, and say so for any vegetarian version with mushrooms and egg.