I’m someone who loves playing with their food. My favorite fruits are pomegranate and grapefruits because you have to work to eat them. I was an avid Easy Bake Oven-er and I am in a longtime search for that oatmeal with dinosaur eggs. So naturally when I heard about a realistic, Japanese candy sushi kit through a Buzzfeed video, I knew I found my next project.
I came across the kit in real life (officially called, Popin’ Cookin’ Happy Sushi House by Hamee) at an Asian grocery store I visited while waiting in line for Dim Sum. It was $5 and I can’t remember a time I bought anything faster. Let’s take a moment to appreciate the packaging. It featured bright, vibrant colors with images of realistic sushi and the cutest little characters you’ve ever seen.
The back of the box listed some intimidating directions, reminding me of 7th grade science lab. It was apparent that this was not a recipe you could be lazy with. I had to focus and gather all my attention towards these very extensive candy sushi kit instructions or else I would be making a pile of mush.
I opened the box and I wondered, how the heck is this going to become food. The box contained 5 packages of what I assumed was a powder, a spoon, a dropper, and a packed roll of something that resembled wax. Although I had no idea what lied ahead, I was ready to embark on a culinary journey of mystery and sugary intrigue.
Step 1: Make the Rice
I mixed the blue package of powder with water in order to create what was supposed to become the rice. I misread the instructions and used more water than I was supposed to, so although the mixture became something, it resembled more of a rice pudding or porridge than the thick, moldable rice I imagined. Although I started off on the wrong foot, I was still pleased that something was being produced from water and the questionable powder.
Step 2: Make the Egg
Again, I was instructed to pour a package of powder in water (the yellow, this time), and stir. I seemed to have used the right amount of water this time because the mixture was delightfully thick, gelatinous, and egg-like. I flattened the gel out for it to become stable. I would never order egg (Tamago) nigiri but it’s bold yellow color does make it perfectly instagrammable.
Step 3: Make the Tuna
The “tuna” was formed exactly the same way as the egg, mixed with water and powder, flattened, and left to stabilize. If someone fed me tuna that looked like this goo I would pull an Andy Samberg and throw it on the ground but I had hope that, with time, mix would become something greater.
Step 4: Make the Roe
This was by far the most exciting part of my sushi making experience. It involved mixing a powder with water (again), getting that mixture into your dropper, and dropping it into another mixture. Somehow, this created fully-formed bubbles, similar to the fruity bursting boba you put on frozen yogurt.
Step 5: Build the Sushi
Did you think the sushi would end up looking this realistic and gorgeous? Because I sure didn’t. Although the rice was difficult to mold due to its over-mushiness, with much care and good lighting, it formed into little sushi balls. The egg and tuna stabilized nicely and smoothly lifted out of its mold to be evenly placed on the rice. That waxy-looking thing I mentioned earlier on played the role of seaweed and wrapped around the rice and roe to look exactly like a little sushi roll. I truly felt like a legitimate sushi chef.
The Taste
With how good it looked
With how delicious the sushi looked, it had to taste delicious too, right? Wrong. The “candy” tasted like a bland sugar mush. I spit it out. All things considered, I think my flawed rice base was a large player in its poor flavor and when my friend made them herself, she said it tasted like, “sugary goodness” so maybe the Japanese candy sushi just doesn’t suit my taste buds.
Nevertheless, I had a ton of fun making Popin’ Cookin’ Happy Sushi House. It felt like arts and crafts meets cooking meets a science project and I would absolutely make it again (and make the rice right this time!) You can likely find this candy sushi kit at your local Asian market or on Amazon, along with Hamee’s other candy kits, including ramen, ice cream, and hamburgers.