Philadelphia Sushi Dip

I always find it funny when gathering with friends, colleagues, or neighbors, and see where discussions take you. Often times I am embedded in conversations regarding food and recipes (go figure), and I always find enjoyment in that. I am often surprised about how genuine folks are when discussing food as well. There is actual excitement in talking about what they just ate, or what they are going to eat. People do get excited about food, and a recent conversation I had with one of my neighbors led me to this recipe.

It was a hot Saturday morning and we were standing in a field waiting for our kids to get their photos taken for baseball. Not sure how it happened, but as we were discussing what we were cooking this weekend, my neighbor had suggested making a sushi dip she has made on occasions. I was immediately interested, probably because I love wasabi paste and that killer burn it provides every time I dabble with sushi or sashimi, and just the thought of how simple it was to make, I thought it would be perfect for an appetizer for that afternoon gathering.

This dip is really simple to put together and had that perfect taste of a standard sushi roll, or in particular what my cousin referred to as the Philadelphia roll.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz package of Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 tbsp wasabi paste, adding a bit of water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sushi rice seasoning
• 1/4 cup of green onion, thinly sliced
• Rice crackers

That’s it. Just these ingredients really bring out the flavors of a full blown sushi roll.

Begin by laying the cream cheese onto your serving plate, and spread out in a circular motion.

To that, gently spread on the wasabi paste, trying to spread it in the inner circle. I like to first make the paste by adding a couple of tablespoons of wasabi powder to about 4 tablespoons of water. Once you have the paste, add a bit more water to make it a little smoother.

Next, drizzle the soy sauce on top and around the plate. Sprinkle the sushi rice seasoning on top. What is great about this stuff is that it has sesame seeds, bits of nori, which is edible seaweed, and combined really give it the sushi taste you are looking for.

Sprinkle the green onions on top, and dig in with the rice crackers.

This dip is perfect for anyone looking for that sushi taste, or better yet, for those that have never had sushi. You could even get a bit creative with this one adding pickled ginger, shrimp, or practically anything you would want to order at a sushi restaurant.

So keep on having great food conversations because you never know what other people are making until you do. Enjoy, and thanks to my neighbor for the great idea!