The
Sushi Tray
I am a sushi addict. There, I confessed LOL! Since it can get rather expensive and its a 30 minute drive to the nearest sushi place (I live in the boonies!), I've begun to roll my own sushi between going to the sushi resturant. I thought others in the same situation might like to learn also. Which is why I added this page on sushi!
A quick note; sushi is not
raw seafood! That is sushimi (sliced raw seafood, which is also good
by the way). Sushi is seasoned rice (with other ingredients but can contain
seafood too).
First some tools you'll need to have on hand. These can be purchased at most larger grocery stores now but if you have an Asian market they are a sure bet.
* a bamboo rolling mat (called a Makisu)
for rolling California rolls.
* a pot or rice cooker for making the sticky
rice.
*a large wooden or glass bowl
* a wooden spatula or spoon
* a very sharp knife.
There are other tools that would be handy like a Nigiri mold, a paddle, ect but these are the essentials above.
Now for ingredients you will need
* Nori (toasted seaweed sheets)
soybean paper or egg roll wrappers
are a substitute, if you don't have any Nori
you can also use flour tortillas
but the taste is not the same.
* Short grain rice or sushi rice, if you can
find that.
* Rice vinegar
* sugar
* cucumbers peeled & sliced in flat, thin
(waferlike) strips
*avacado and/or carrot thin, flat strips
* fresh, cooked crab or imitation crab
side items
* wasabi (Asian horseradish mustard)
* Gari-pickled ginger slices
If you plan on making sushimi you'll also need
to buy, as fresh as possible
(no more than 24 hrs old):
* fresh seafood such as tuna and/or salmon.
Be especially careful to get fresh saltwater
seafood if using it raw.
You can also substitute smoked or canned salmon to be safe.
Rolling Sushi
* cut one sheet of Nori in half
The salmon
above can be substituted with imitation crab
also.
Experiment with the amounts of ingredients but
for me a 1/2 cup of rice per sheet is nice!
Roll tightly and seal nori with a dab of wasabi.
Place seam side down and cut in sections with a very sharp knife.
Serve Gari (ginger slices) and wasabi on the
side (for dipping).
Wasabi is a green, hot
Asian horseradish & comes powder form, just add water.
Ginger slices are to reset your tastebuds between
different types of sushi.
Another great dip is * peanut butter & soy sauce heated in the microwave until a good dip consistancy, about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds to check it.
After roll is made, cut with sharp knife in 6-8 slices.
There you have it, california rolls!
Tips
* If you don't own a bamboo roller, you can make handrolled sushi by placing ingredients on nori & roll in a cone & enjoy! This is called Temaki Sushi.
* Make sure rice is extra sticky for it to cling to nori.
* Wet knife between cutting rolls for clean cuts.
* Place saran wrap under nori (on top of bamboo roller) to keep bamboo clean. This is good to store rolls in fridge too. Just wrap the whole roll before slicing. Don't wash bamboo roller, it will warp!
* keep fingers wet with a small bowl of water/rice vinegar mix to work with sticky rice.
How
to make Nigiri Sushi
(those little oval rice rolls topped with sliced
seafood)
Other Homemade Sushi Links
"Rolling
your own sushi"
(Mark Hutchenreuther's Homepage filled with info,
recipes, tips ect.)
Sticky
Rice
(great site by Japanese sushi chef, Jay Catapusan)