Author: Allison

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Other Recipes

Independence Day Sushi Parfait

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Happy Independence Day! I hope everyone is having a fun Fourth of July celebration! Well, my American readers anyways. Sorry everyone else. 🙁

Now don’t get mad at me, because I know this isn’t really sushi, or even that close, but I’m going to post it anyways! Because I can. 😀 It’s only real claim to sushi is the rice pudding, (yeah, I didn’t even use sumeshi!!!) but if you don’t like rice pudding then it’s completely not sushi, just another (yummy!) dessert. It’s certainly festive though, and nice and cool on a hot summer day like today (well, for us anyways).

I’ll be over at my parent’s house most of today, because the city where they live allows fireworks, and the city where I’m living doesn’t. Unfortunately this year there are a bunch of restrictions because we are already having so many fires in CA because of the drought we are in this year. It sucks, but at least they haven’t banned fireworks completely yet! Plus my parents are having a BBQ, which gives me even more reason to go over there! Hamburgers, pasta salad, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, spinach dip, chocolate banana cream pie and chocolate torte. Yum! 😀 Have a great Fourth of July!

Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients
  • 3 cups Berry Blue Jell-O
  • 3 cups Strawberry (or some other red flavor) Jell-O
  • 6 cups rice pudding
  • 6 strawberries
  • 18 blueberries
Cooking Directions
  1. You can buy the Jell-O pre-made in the little cups or buy the little boxes of powder and make it as directed on the package. I bought my strawberry Jell-o pre-made, and made the Berry Blue Jell-O from the package, since they didn’t have any pre-made at the store.
  2. You can also buy the rice pudding pre-made like I did, if you have a whole lot of cooking to do that day, or you can make it from scratch. I reccomend this recipe, omitting the raisins. If for some reason you don’t like rice pudding, you can substitute it with vanilla pudding. If you don’t like that either, then you’re on your own because I can’t think of anything else to substitute it with. 😉
  3. Wash the blueberries and strawberries.
  4. Slice up the strawberries.
  5. Mash the blue Jell-O with a cutting motion, using a spoon or a knife. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the blue Jell-O into each of six parfait glasses.
  6. Gently scoop about 1/2 cup of rice pudding into each glass on top of the blue Jell-O, making sure not to mix it with the Jell-O.
  7. Mash the red Jell-O with a cutting motion, using a spoon or a knife. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the red Jell-O into each glasses on top of the rice pudding.
  8. Gently scoop about 1/2 cup of rice pudding into each glass on top of the red Jell-O, making sure not to mix it with the Jell-O.
  9. Garnish each glass with 3 blueberries and one sliced strawberry. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Coming Soon!

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Categories
Maki Recipes

Cha-Shu Sushi

chashu roll

I grew up with my mom making cha-shu. She would make a big batch for dinner one night and we would eat it with ramen, and then eat it in sandwiches the rest of the week. It wasn’t until I met Son that I ever heard it referred to by the Chinese name – char siu? Or something like that? The way Son says it sounds like sa-siew, so now I’m completely confused. Don’t blame me, I’m Japanese! Hehe maybe some of my Chinese readers can help me out here? Anyways, after making the beef teriyaki for the Banh Mi Sushi and being rather successful with one of my mom’s dishes, I decided to make another dish that I grew up with, and it turned out pretty good too! (Of course it wasn’t as good as mom’s… it’s never as good as mom’s!)

Now you may think I’m silly, but if you are in the mood to go see a movie, and an animated one at that, you should really go see Ratatouille. You know, the movie with the cooking rat! Hehe Son and I just got back from seeing it, and it was fantastic! Now if only I could cook like that… maybe someday! 😀

Makes 6 rolls, or 36-48 slices.

Chashu Roll

Ingredients
  • 6 sheets nori
  • 3 cups sumeshi
  • 2 lbs boneless center cut pork loin
  • 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 2 tbsp shoyu
  • 1.5 tbsp rice wine (NOT rice vinegar!)
  • 2.5 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 1/5 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 avocado
  • mayonnaise
  • seasoning salt
Cooking Directions
  1. Remove most of the fat and gristle from pork loin and discard.
  2. Cut meat with grain into strips about 3 inches thick.
  3. Combine hoisin sauce, shoyu, rice wine, sugar, salt, ketchup and garlic in a bowl.
  4. Add meat. Coat well.
  5. Marinate at least 4 hours, or overnight
  6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  7. Arrange the pork on a rack (I used a cookie cooling rack) in a roasting pan (or on a cookie sheet). If you want to reduce the mess, line the cookie sheet with foil and also put foil on the rack, using a knife to cut through the foil where the openings in the rack are so the juices and marinade can drip through onto the pan. It’s not guaranteed to be entirely mess free, but it should reduce the mess significantly.
  8. Roast for 45 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and the outside is brown.
  9. Cook sushi rice.
  10. Slice a piece of the cooked meat into strips, about 1 inch thick.
  11. Cut the avocado in half, discard the pit, slice into thin slices while still in the tough skin, then discard the skin.
  12. Roll the sushi, using one cha-shu stick, a few avocado sticks and mayonnaise as your fillings.
  13. Sprinkle with seasoning salt. Enjoy!

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Other Recipes

Inari Con Gambas Al Ajillo

inari con gambas al ajillo

On Father’s Day, after I was finished making the sushi, my mom made tapas. My sister always requests them, because she went to Spain over spring break on a trip with some of her teachers and classmates from her high school. She’s such the world traveller… plus she got to go to Kenya in middle school!!! Lucky girl. Hehe I haven’t been out of the U.S. 48 continental states! Anyways, she loved the food when she was in Spain, so my mom tried making some and they came out great! So since I had just finished making Inari-Zushi I figured why not mix them! And let me tell you, it came out great! The tapas have a lot of spices and were very salty, which balances extremely nicely with the sweetness of the inari-zushi.

Inari Con Gambas Al Ajillo

The tapas recipe that my mom used (and that I used here) is from GroupRecipes.com.

Inari Con Gambas Al Ajillo

Makes 12 pieces

Ingredients
  • Inari-Zushi
  • 1/2 – 3/4 pound small shrimp, shelled
  • coarse salt
  • 8 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and very coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon minced parsley
Cooking Directions
  1. Dry the shrimp well.
  2. Sprinkle salt on both sides.
  3. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
  4. Heat the oil over medium heat, then add the garlic.
  5. When the garlic starts to turn golden add the shrimp.
  6. Stir for about 2 minutes or until the shrimp are just done.
  7. Sprinkle in the paprika and parsley.
  8. Make the Inari-Zushi.
  9. Place four to six pieces of shrimp on the inari, and eat!

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Other Recipes

Spam Musubi

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Spam musubi isn’t exactly sushi, although it is very similar. It is a popular Hawaiian snack using spam, regular rice (not sumeshi), and nori. I find it to be really yummy and not too hard to make. The marinated/fried spam tastes almost like unagi, in an odd roundabout way, but trust me, it’s good! (Hehe that’s to all of you who turn your noses up at the idea of spam (the food) – it’s actually pretty good! Try it scrambled in eggs too 🙂 )

If I haven’t seemed quite here this past week, it’s because I’m in the middle of finals. Yeah, I know, my university finishes the year quite a bit later than most others, but that’s okay, because we get to start a lot later too! We don’t start until the end of September! 😛 Wish me luck – one more final this quarter, and then only a year left in school! I can’t wait to be out of here!

Makes 10 pieces.

Ingredients
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. Mix the shoyu, oyster sauce, and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved.
  3. Cut the spam into about 10 pieces, horizontally (like you are slicing the top off each time). Keep the can!
  4. Place the span in the shoyu mix, marinate for about 5 minutes.
  5. Put the oil in a frying pan, heat over medium heat.
  6. Fry the marinated spam until brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
  7. Cut the nori into strips about 2.5 inches wide.
  8. Wash the can that the spam was in very well.
  9. Fill the can loosely with rice, then pack the rice into the can very tightly. It should end up about an inch or so thick. Update: To get the rice out of the can, I slammed the can upside down on the cutting board until the rice came out. You might also try to line the can with plastic wrap before you pack the rice, so it’s easy to pull it out.
  10. Place the rice on one end of the nori, so that they are perpendicular.
  11. Place a slice of spam on the rice.
  12. Wrap the nori around the spam/rice stack. Hold closed for a few seconds, it should stick. If it doesn’t stay closed, use a drop of water to close it.

Serving Size: 1 piece

  • Calories: 186
  • Fat: 8g, 12% DV
  • Saturated Fat: 3g, 14% DV
  • Cholesterol: 20mg, 7% DV
  • Sodium: 1444mg 60% DV
  • Total Carbohydrates: 24g, 8% DV
  • Dietary Fiber: 0g, 1% DV
  • Sugars: 18g
  • Protein: 5g, 11% DV
  • Vitamin A: 1%
  • Vitamin C: 1%
  • Calcium: 1%
  • Iron: 3%
  • Magnesium: 2%
  • Potassium: 3%

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. These values are only estimates based on the individual ingredients, and not meant to replace the advice of a medical professional.

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Maki Recipes

Tropical Maki

tropical maki

A few weeks ago, Son got some pineapple from his mom. We like to use random ingredients like that when we get them, (since we don’t get pineapple very often), so we decided to use it in some sushi. Yum yum yum! If you have some pineapple, definitely try this one. Sweet, salty and refreshing, it’s a little bite of paradise.

Today was the last day of classes for me (I only had class on Tuesdays and Thursdays this quarter), and in one of my classes we had a little party. I made sushi, and it was a hit! I made the California Roll, the Crunchy Shrimp Roll, and the Tuna Salad Sushi, and there wasn’t any sushi left at the end of the class! I was so happy. 🙂

Makes 6 rolls, or 36-48 slices.

Ingredients
Cooking Directions
  1. Cook sushi rice.
  2. Bake tempura shrimp as directed on the package. I used this tempura shrimp, but I’m sure other types, or even homemade tempura shrimp will work just fine. You can also fry the tempura shrimp if you choose, but baking it is healthier, and you can prepare other things (such as the sumeshi) while it’s baking.
  3. Cut tails off the tempura shrimp.
  4. Slice tempura shrimp in half lengthwise, set aside.
  5. Slice the pineapple into 1″ x 1″ x 6″ pieces.
  6. Wash the green onion, cut the long green stalks off of the white bulb-like things. Discard (or pickle) the white bulbs.
  7. Roll the sushi, using one green onion stalk, a piece of pineapple, and 2 ½ slices of tempura shrimp as your fillings.
  8. Serve with shoyu, wasabi, and ginger if desired. Enjoy!

Categories
Maki Recipes

Spicy Tuna Salad Roll

Spicy Tuna Salad Roll

A while back in the comments for the Tuna Salad Sushi, Tanit suggested using Siracha hot sauce in the Tuna Salad sushi. We finally got around to trying it, and although I’m not so fond of it (I’m not a big fan of spicy things, although I am beginning to be able to tolerate wasabi 😉 ), Son loved it! If you like spicy like Son likes spicy, definitely try it!

Today Son and I went and played tennis. 🙂 Now this might not seem like a big deal, but I haven’t really played since I took lessons when I was 8 or 9, while Son was on the tennis team both at his high school and at his undergraduate college!!! So of course, we were very unbalanced, with really bad me on one side, and really good him on the other. Thankfully he was really nice about it today (unlike other times, when he has accidentally kicked soccer balls into my stomach or hit me with a power serve in tennis!) and was helping me improve my technique so that I could hit the ball straight and make it in the court (rather than hitting it on an angle such that it goes flying high). He even taught me to do a proper (overhead) serve!! I have never been able to do those, and I was able to hit the ball today, although it never actually made it over the net when I did an overhead serve. Yes, I was really bad, and really weak. 😛 My arms hurt.

Makes 6 rolls, or 36-48 slices.

Ingredients
Cooking Directions
  1. Cook sushi rice.
  2. Open the tuna cans carefully, and drain.
  3. Mix the tuna with mayonnaise and Siracha sauce.
  4. Wash the lettuce.
  5. Roll the sushi. For your fillings, place a couple of lettuce leaves on the sumeshi-covered nori and place about half a can of tuna salad on the lettuce, then roll the sushi as you normally would.
  6. Serve and enjoy!

Categories
Maki Recipes

Sweet Curry Sushi

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I tried making a quick and easy curry that didn’t use very many ingredients. I intended to make something that tasted like good curry, without all the work. Unfortunately… things don’t always go as planned. The curry I made ended up tasting way too sweet, and not *curry* enough. 🙁 I’m posting the recipe anyways (in case any of you like ridiculously sweet curry 😀 ), but I am wondering if any of you have some really good curry recipes that you are willing to share? I promise to get a better tasting curry sushi up here sometime, and if I use your recipe I will of course credit you! 🙂

Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend! (Or at least my American readers…) Son and I went to a street fair near where I grew up that I go to every Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend. We had a lot of fun, and ate a bunch of good food, then went back to my parent’s house and had a BBQ! Yum!

By the way, if you haven’t voted in our poll, please go and vote! I really appreciate all your input!

Makes 6 rolls, or 36-48 pieces.

Ingredients
  • 6 sheets nori
  • 3 cups sumeshi
  • 18 cut up chicken pieces
  • 1/4 cup prepared mustard
  • 1 cup honey
  • 4 tbsp curry powder
  • 2 large potatoes
Cooking Directions
  1. Cook sushi rice.
  2. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
  3. Wash and cut the chicken and potatoes into 1 inch square pieces.
  4. Mix the mustard, honey, and curry powder in a bowl, microwave on high for 1 minute.
  5. Place the chicken and potato pieces in a 9″x11″ pan, pour the curry sauce over it.
  6. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.
  7. Roll the sushi, using the chicken and potato pieces as your fillings.
  8. Drizzle the curry sauce over the sushi. Enjoy!

Serving Size: 1 roll

  • Calories: 365
  • Fat: 4g, 5% DV
  • Saturated Fat: 1g, 4% DV
  • Cholesterol: 21mg, 7% DV
  • Sodium: 774mg 32% DV
  • Total Carbohydrates: 74g, 25% DV
  • Dietary Fiber: 3g, 13% DV
  • Sugars: 51g
  • Protein: 10g, 20% DV
  • Vitamin A: 7%
  • Vitamin C: 13%
  • Calcium: 3%
  • Iron: 14%
  • Magnesium: 8%
  • Potassium: 11%

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. These values are only estimates based on the individual ingredients, and not meant to replace the advice of a medical professional.

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Maki Recipes

Banh Mi Sushi

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Banh Mi Sushi is a new favorite of mine. Son and I went to a BBQ yesterday for one of his friends’ birthday, and brought this meat and it was a hit! We thought it might taste good in sushi, so we stole one and brought it home… and we were right! With the carrots and marinated daikon radish, it tastes very similar to one of the Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches on French bread… so good! We used to get those all the time since there is a Lee’s Sandwiches within walking distance of our apartment. When you make these, prepare ahead of time… the meat needs to be marinated overnight, so this isn’t really something you can do spur of the moment. (But believe me, it’s worth the time!)

Makes 6 rolls, or 36-48 pieces.

Ingredients
  • 6 sheets nori
  • 3 cups sumeshi
  • top sirloin (get as much as you want. Although you probably only need about half a pound for the sushi, you probably will want to eat some straight off the BBQ since it’s so good! :))
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup shoyu
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
  • 1/8 tsp grated ginger
  • 1 cup grated carrot
  • 1 cup grated daikon radish
  • 1 cup rice vinegar
  • mayonnaise
Cooking Directions
  1. Mix the sugar, water, shoyu, garlic, and ginger in a large bowl.
  2. Remove as much fat as you can from the meat, and slice the meat across the grain into thin strips that are about 1.5 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick. Try to make these strips long, if possible.
  3. Place the meat in the marinade, and refrigerate overnight, mixing every now and then so the all the meat gets marinated on all sides.
  4. Weave the meat onto skewers, and spread it so it is flat. If the strip of meat is short, put two or three strips of meat on the skewer (this is why we wanted the strips to be long 🙂 ). Discard the marinade.
  5. Barbecue the meat until it is well cooked.
  6. Cook sushi rice.
  7. Place the shredded daikon radish and the rice vinegar in a bowl, and let sit until you make the sushi.
  8. Remove the skewers from the meat.
  9. Roll the sushi, using the beef teriyaki, shredded carrots and shredded, marinated daikon as your fillings.
  10. Dip the sushi in mayonnaise. Enjoy!

Coming Soon!

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Other Sushi Randomness

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day everyone! Spoil your moms today, and if you are a mother then take the day to relax!

We’re off to celebrate with my mom’s side of the family at my grandmother’s house. We always go eat at my grandmother’s favorite restaurant (I have no idea what the name of the restaurant is… it’s a little hole-in-the-wall place). Afterwards, we will get our annual strawberries at one of the roadside fruit stands near my grandmother’s house… the best strawberries ever!

We went out to dinner yesterday with Son’s mom, since we are spending the day with my family today. We went to this Teppan grill called Wabi Sabi… I swear to goodness the chefs must have been trained at the same place as the chefs from Benihanas! The grill show was almost exactly the same, and all the food tasted the same… am I missing something??? I don’t think Wabi Sabi is owned by Benihanas…

This is one of the flower pictures that Son took in the gardens at the Getty