Vinegar Rice with Variety of Toppings
First:
Wash rice and drain. Leave for 30 mins. Put in rice cooker and add little less than 3 cups of water; place konbu seaweed on top; turn on rice cooker.
Cut off head of fried conger eel and cut the rest into 2cm(0.75 inch) pieces. Stir conger eel with seasoning sauce until thickened; mix conger eel pieces in sauce and let cool.
Briskly wash gourd strip roll and rub with salt. Place in pan with ample water; cook in medium heat for 7to 8 mins.(gourd is ready when nail grows through by squeezing) wash, drain and cut into 5mm(0.2 inch) slices.
Soak dried shiitake mushroom in lukewarm water until soft. Squeeze lightly, cut off stem, cut into small squares.
Cut carrots into same size as other ingredients.
Peel lotus root. Cut outer part of lotus root to make flower shape. Finely chop remaining lotus root. Cut lotus root in half lengthwise then slice thinly. After soaking in water with vinegar and salt. Bring to boil lightly with salt, vinegar; and soak in sweet vinegar with twice amount of dashi soup stock or water.
Cut legs of boiled octopus into bite sizes, cut and soak in sweet vinegar with lotus root.
Leave shell of shrimp and remove back veins. Bring shrimp seasoning to boil and cook shrimp until sauce evaporates. Let cool and remove shell. Slice into halves.
Mix thin omelet strips ingredients. Put little oil in frying pan and make thin egg crepes and slice.
Second:Place shiitake mushroom, gourd strips and dashi broth; place a lid in the pan over the ingredients and cook for 10 mins. Add rest of carrots, lotus root and cook until all moisture evaporates. Let cool.
Wipe wood rice container with tightly squeezed towel. Remove konbu seaweed from place cooked rice into wooden bowl. Add 80 ml(0.3 cup) of sushi vinegar into rice and mix gently as if slicing through while fanning with a paper fan to cool.
When cool mix all ingredients.
Place shredded nori seaweed and sesame seeds on a dish. Squeeze all moisture from lotus root and place on dish with octopus, shrimp and conger eel. Sprinkle omlelet strips and salmon roe; garnish with leaf buds.