Cured Salmon Rice Balls

Prep Crush juniper berries with the flat of a knife. Finely chop dill. Pat salmon dry. Thinly slice cucumber into rounds. Cut lemon into wedges. Cut nori sheet into 3 strips with kitchen scissors.

Build 1 Combine 2 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar, juniper, and half the dill in a small bowl. Pat the cure mix over both sides of the salmon fillet, drizzle with vodka, wrap tightly in plastic, and rest in the fridge 45 minutes for a quick cure.

Boil Rinse rice under cold water until water runs clear. Combine rice with 180ml water in a small pot. Bring to a boil over high, reduce to lowest heat, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Rest off the heat 10 minutes.

Build 2 Whisk 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar for rice, and 0.25 tsp salt in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Tip cooked rice into a wide bowl, drizzle with the seasoned vinegar, and fold gently with a wooden spatula 90 seconds until rice glistens. Rest until just warm.

Build 3 Toss cucumber rounds with 1 tsp rice vinegar and 0.5 tsp sugar in a small bowl. Press down and rest 10 minutes until cucumber softens and releases liquid. Whisk soy sauce, Dijon, honey, sesame oil, and remaining dill in a separate bowl for the dipping sauce.

Plate Unwrap salmon, brush off excess cure, and pat dry. Slice salmon into 6 thin sashimi-style strips. With wet hands, shape rice into 3 triangle onigiri roughly 6cm wide. Drape 2 strips of cured salmon across each onigiri, wrap a nori strip around the base, scatter sesame seeds across the top, and arrange on a plate with pickled cucumber, dipping sauce, and lemon wedges alongside.