Month: October 2006

Categories
Maki Recipes

California Roll

california roll

California Rolls are the most popular and most well known sushi rolls in the United States. The California Roll isn’t exactly a traditional roll, but I am by no means a sushi traditionalist – I love them!

This is (in comparison to some more traditional sushi) one of the milder rolls, which makes it great for those who have never eaten sushi before. This was actually one of the only kinds of sushi I ate all through my childhood, up until a couple of years ago.

But beware: if you are allergic to fish, you should use real crab instead of imitation, since imitation crab is made out of fish.

Makes 6 rolls, or 36-48 slices.

Ingredients
Cooking Directions
  1. Cook sushi rice.
  2. Mix imitation crab and mayonnaise, separating crab pieces and mashing into smaller pieces.
  3. Cut the avocado in half, discarding the pit.
  4. Cut off the hard skin and discard.
  5. Slice the avocado into thin sticks.
  6. If you choose to use cucumber, slice it into long, thin sticks.
  7. Using avocado sticks, cucumber(if desired), and the imitation crab mix as your fillings, roll and slice the sushi
  8. Garnish with sesame seeds, and serve with wasabi, shoyu, and ginger (if desired). Enjoy!

Categories
Maki Recipes

Kappa Maki

kappa maki

This is by far the easiest sushi roll to make. Not only is it vegetarian, it is also vegan, so just about anyone can eat it!

Makes 6 rolls, or 36-48 pieces.

Ingredients
Cooking Directions
  1. Cook sushi rice.
  2. Wash cucumber thoroughly.
  3. If desired, peel cucumber.
  4. Slice the cucumber into 1/2-cm thick sticks.
  5. Lay a stick of cucumber on the sheet of nori.
  6. Roll and slice the sushi, using only 1/2 cup of rice for each roll instead of a full cup. These rolls will be smaller than most, as we are only using one ingredient.
  7. Serve with ginger, wasabi, and shoyu, if desired. Enjoy!

Categories
Maki Recipes

How to Roll Maki Sushi


Placing the fillings on the nori

It takes a bit of practice to roll sushi perfectly, so don’t worry if you don’t get it right on the first try. (I sure didn’t!) Just keep trying, and keep in mind – even if they don’t look great, they are still edible! Mistakes taste just as good as perfectly rolled sushi. If you prefer to make inside-out maki rolls (uramaki sushi), see my How to Roll Inside-Out Maki post.

Rolling the Maki

Lay a piece of nori on the rolling mat, shiny side down.


Nori on the sushi rolling mat

Place about 1/2 cup of sumeshi on the nori.


Placing rice on the nori

Wet your hands with water so the rice won’t stick to your hands. I find it’s useful to have a small bowl of water sitting next to my work area so I don’t have to keep running between the sink and my work area to keep my hands wet.


Wetting hands with water

Spread the rice over the nori with your hands, leaving a 1/2-inch strip of nori uncovered at the bottom.


Spreading the sumeshi

Place your desired fillings along this strip of uncovered nori on the edge closest to you.


Placing the fillings on the nori

Using the rolling mat, begin to tightly roll the sushi. Start at the side nearest to you, and roll away from you. Make sure you don’t roll the rolling mat into your sushi!


Beginning to roll the sushi


Rolling the sushi

When the sushi is completely rolled, use the rolling mat to squeeze the sushi so it does not unroll when you are trying to cut it.


Finishing rolling the sushi


Squeezing the sushi

Using a very sharp knife, cut the sushi into six or eight pieces, depending on how thick you like your sushi. It helps to have your knife freshly sharpened; otherwise it’s pretty easy to squish your sushi when you are cutting it. This can cause the sushi to fall apart when you are eating it, and become kind of a pain. Also, it helps to wet your knife before cutting the sushi, so the rice and fillings won’t stick to it.


Cutting the sushi


Almost done... all that is left is to eat it!

WARNING: Please be very careful using the knife! Do not allow children to use sharp knives, and keep fingers and other body parts away from the blade. I am not liable for any injury you might incur while using knives or other sharp objects.

Categories
Other Sushi Randomness

Preparing the Rolling Mat


A bamboo sushi mat on a blue cutting board

The sushi rolling mat is a small mat made of bamboo which is used to roll and squeeze maki sushi into tight rolls. Preparing it will help keep the mat clean, so you don’t have to try to clean all of the rice off of it (which believe me, is quite a pain!)

Preparing the Sushi Rolling Mat

Lay out a piece of plastic wrap twice the length of the bamboo mat. The plastic wrap should be oriented so that the short side is near you. Lay the bamboo mat on the center of the plastic wrap, oriented the little bamboo sticks that make up the mat are parallel to the short end of the plastic wrap.


A bamboo sushi mat on top of a sheet of plastic wrap

Fold the bottom end of the plastic wrap over the bamboo mat.


Folding the plastic wrap over the bamboo mat

Fold the top end of the plastic wrap over the bamboo mat, pressing to make sure it sticks to the part that has already been folded over.


Bamboo mat with top and bottom plastic wrap folded over it

Fold the corners in little triangles, so they don’t stick out.


Corners of the plastic wrap folded over

Fold the two sides in, making sure they stick to the plastic wrap that has already been folded in.


Folding the sides of the plastic wrap in

Turn over so the folded parts are down, and start rolling your sushi!


Finished rolling mat - you are ready to make sushi!

Categories
Other Recipes

Sumeshi


Sushi rice in a wooden hangiri (a large, flat, round container)

Sumeshi, also known as sushi-meshi, is the Japanese term for the sushi rice. Sumeshi is used in sushi, giving it a light but distinct flavor.

Makes 3 cups of sumeshi.

Ingredients
  • 1.5 cups uncooked short grain rice
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 6 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 5 tbsp sugar
Cooking Directions
  1. Cook the rice, using equal parts rice and water. I use a rice cooker, but you can also cook it on the stove if you don’t have a rice cooker.
  2. Put the rice vinegar and sugar in a small pot over medium heat.
  3. Stir until the sugar has melted into the rice vinegar.
  4. Once the rice is finished cooking, take the rice out of the pot and put it in the hangiri, or a large bowl if you don’t have a hangiri.
  5. Cool the rice and rice vinegar mix, then slowly pour the rice vinegar mix over the rice, using a cutting motion to mix it into the rice with the rice paddle (Thanks to Will and Jim for their tips!).
  6. Make sushi!
Categories
Other Sushi Randomness

What is Sushi?


Salmon and avocado maki rolls on a black plate

Sushi [soo-shee] – cold boiled rice moistened with rice vinegar, usually shaped into bite-size pieces and topped with raw seafood (nigiri-zushi) or formed into a long seaweed-wrapped roll, often around strips of vegetable or raw fish, and sliced into bite-size pieces (maki-zushi). (Dictionary.com)

When people think of the Japanese culture, sushi often automatically comes to mind, and for good reason. Sushi began as a method for preserving fish in Japan. Rice was used in the fermentation process, as both fish and rice are in abundant supply in Japan. Over the years, the preparation changed and evolved into the sushi we know today, which looks and tastes much better and uses many ingredients aside from fish. Now, sushi is a very popular dish which is often served as a quick, cheap meal at stands all over Japan.

In the United States, sushi can range from cheaper, typical types such as the California roll and Inari-zushi, to more expensive rolls seen at fusion restaurants and nicer restaurants all across America. Many people shy away from the thought of eating raw fish, but most come back for more when they find that not only is most sushi made from ingredients other than raw fish, but that it is actually delicious!

I personally think sushi is wonderful – a little bite of heaven. Many of the recipes I provide won’t be completely traditional, but hey… they’re still tasty!

So if you’ve never had sushi, go out and try some! I promise you can find a type of sushi you like. And when you do decide you love sushi, come back and try making some with me!

Sources:
“sushi.” Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ©Random House, Inc. 2006. 07 Sep. 2006.