Uncle Chuck’s Crab & Shiitake Mushroom Sushi “Casserole”

On a pleasant evening this past week we had yet another family reunion, this time connecting with my German roots/peeps, who came to visit Hawaii all the way from Berlin and Stuttgart (the latter being home of Porsche).

With that, we made it a pot luck, where one of my Von Arnswaldt cousins (droppin’ the German name there; mom’s dad side) made this absolutely BROKE DA’ MOUT’ Crab & Shiitake Mushroom Sushi Casserole. Well, at least that’s what I’m calling it, as he didn’t really have a name for it. All he knows is that Catherine Toth, columnist of the former Honolulu Advertiser loved it so much at a recent function he attended, that she asked him for the recipe. Which he was more than happy to share, hence where I’m sharing with you now.

This pupu was so popular at the party, everyone whacked it before I got a chance to get a photo of it as a full pan!

Which actually is kinda’ funny, come to think of it, as I can’t imagine a Japanese sushi chef ever thinking of making this delicacy “Casserole” style. Would take a “Kraut” (German) to think that up. lol No, but seriously, my cousin got this recipe from a friend of his, who is local Japanese, and let me tell you, this buggah is a WINNAH! FANTASTIC potluck dish, or any dish for that matter. You gotta’ try this!

So here’s the recipe (and no worry, I not going make da’ kine “Japanee style” and hold out on the secret ingrediments or methods! Ha ha!)…

Crab & Shiitake Mushroom Sushi “Casserole”
Serves enough for a small crowd

• 3 cups cooked rice
• Aji Furikake
- After cooked, let the rice cool completely in the pot. When the rice is cooled down, create a bed in a shallow baking pan and compact it tightly, just as you would if you were making a regular Sushi roll (think of it that way). Once you have the rice compacted into a bed in the pan, sprinkle Aji Nori Furikake to cover the rice evenly. Use more or less at your discretion.

Then…
Mix together in a bowl:
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (Best Foods brand of course)
• 1 cup sour cream
Chop up (preferably in a food processor) the following, and add to the mayo/sour cream mix :
• 1 package of imitation crab
• 1 package of (rehydrated if dried) shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
Now spread the Crab/Shiitake/Mayo/Sour Cream “good stuff” mix onto the bed of Furikake-sprinkled rice compacted in the pan, creating an even, fairly generous layer.
Pop the Crab & Shiitake Mushroom Sushi Casserole in a preheated oven on broil at maximum temperature and heat it until the topping is slightly browned. Remove and let cool.

Serve the finished Crab & Shiitake Mushroom Sushi Casserole at room temperature in the pan by cutting it into approximately 1″x2″ bite-size pieces. Provide seasoned (like Teriyaki) Korean Nori (if you can’t get that, use regular Nori, but just make sure it’s fresh and crispy) on the side, which the guests will use to wrap the Crab & Shiitake Mushroom “Rice Casserole” piece into, which in turn will make it complete as Sushi.  Enjoy. Then enjoy another one. And another one. And another one. So ono!

Trust me, as simple as it sounds, YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS. We all did (including our German guests of honor), that’s for sure! It’s the PERFECT “everyone will dig it”, easy-and-cheap-to-make pot luck dish. Of course you could also enhance/make it your own even more by adding more yum-yums such as Goma (Sesame) seed, Avocado and/or Shichimi Togarashi, etc..

While we’re on “apps” and our (German-side) family reunion, this also has nothing to do with Germany, yet certainly very AMERICAN (in a Chinese “wannabe” way), where my pot luck contribution was Crab Rangoon…

Pomai’s Crab Rangoon with Mae Ploy Sweet Thai Chili Dipping Sauce
(Crispy Gau Gee from Chinese takeout restaurant also plated on same spread)

Here’s my take (and there’s many) on Crab Rangoon…

Crab Rangoon
• 1 package fresh Wonton wrappers (enough to make about 30 or more; I use my favorite Sun Noodle brand)
• 1 eight oz. package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 six oz. can white (or your favorite variety of fresh, frozen or canned) crab meat, shredded or minced
• 1 five oz. can whole or sliced boiled and peeled water chestnuts, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh garlic
• 1 tablespoon finely minced red onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
• 1 raw egg, white and yolk combined (wash to seal wonton wrapper)
• 3 cups cooking oil for deep frying (your favorite brand and type)
• Sweet Thai Chili Sauce (Mae Ploy is my favorite brand)

Thoroughly combine and mix cream cheese, crab, water chestnuts, Worcestershire (“what’s that here?”) sauce, garlic, red onion and green onion in a mixing bowl.

Add about a teaspoon (more or less, up to you, but don’t put too much, or it will leak out of wrapper when deep fried) of cream cheese and crab mixture in the center of wonton wrapper. Apply egg wash on one side of wrapper, then fold in half to make a triangle (or half circle). Press seem firmly with your finger to seal it, making sure the cheese and crab mixture won’t leak out when it melts inside as while in the hot oil. You can leave it in triangle or half-circle shape, or get all fancy-nancy and fold it into an Origami Crane or Giraffe if you like. Whatevahz. lol).

Prep all your Crab Rangoon Wontons before deep frying. When pau preppin’ ‘em, preheat the oil to 360 degrees in adequate cooking vessel and deep fry Crab Rangoon in batches that fit in pan/pot/fryer without over-crowding it. Cook until Golden Brown Delicious, a.k.a. “GBD”, which takes on average about 3 minutes. Remove and drain on rack or paper towel and repeat next batch until all Crab Rangoon are done.

Serve on platter with Sweet Thai Chili dipping sauce (Coleman’s “Chinese” Mustard mixed with Shoyu is also a great dipping sauce for Crab Rangoon). Garnish with chopped green onions for color if you like. Enjoy!

P.S. Last weekend Kiho’alu (Slack Key) guitar master Makana was performing at the KCC Farmers’ Market. Here’s a video clip of him covering Keola & Kapono Beamer’s “Mr. San Cho Lee”…

Mahalo Makana for the CDs! The disc for Aunty Ilona (uncle Sonny’s sister) is on its way to her.