Category: Sushi

Many things can happen in a year. A year ago, I was in Santa Barbara for my cousin’s wedding – one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to (and I’ve been to quite a few!) That was one of the only times I had ever been to Santa Barbara.

A year ago, my brother relapsed. He has been undergoing treatment for the past year, and should be cancer-free a year from now.

A year ago, I was beginning my last year of college. To not have to worry about scheduling classes, buying books, going to lectures, and taking tests – it’s a wonderful feeling to have graduated.

A year ago, I had never tried sashimi. Now, a year later, I use sashimi in nearly every recipe I make. I’ve got to make up for all those years without sashimi, right?

A year ago, Son and I were designing the Sushi Day shirts, hoping and praying that people would actually buy them. A year later, we’ve sold many of the shirts, and we still have a few left, if you’d like to buy one!

What has happened for you in the past year? What are you looking forward to in the next year?

If nothing else, your next year should definitely include these Santa Barbara Rolls. All the ingredients come together to make a delicious piece of sushi, and yet the hotate (scallop) still manages to shine through. I couldn’t stop eating them… even now, I’m craving more!

Ingredients

• 6 sheets nori
• 3 cups sumeshi
• 12 tempura shrimp
• 1/2 small avocado
• 6 stalks asparagus
• 6 sashimi-grade scallops
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce

Cooking Directions

1. Cook sushi rice.
2. Bake the tempura shrimp according to the directions on the package, or make your own. (I usually bake them for 10 min at 350 degrees.)
3. Remove the tails of the shrimp.
4. Cut the avocado in half, discarding the pit.
5. Cut off the hard skin and discard.
6. Slice the avocado into thin sticks.
7. Steam asparagus for a couple of minutes until they are easy to bite into.
8. Remove the tough section of the scallops and discard, or freeze to use in a seafood stock later.
9. Slice the scallops into about 4-6 slices, depending on the size of the scallops.
10. Mix the mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce.
11. Roll the sushi inside-out, using two pieces of tempura shrimp, some avocado, a stalk of asparagus, and the equivalent of one scallop as your fillings.
12. Spoon the spicy mayonnaise into a plastic ziplock bag and cut a tiny bit of one of the bottom corners of the bag off.
13. Squeeze the spicy mayonnaise through the hole to drizzle over your sushi.

Obviously, this roll is called “Carburetor” because it looks like one. What, you can’t see it? No, wait… look at it this way… turn your head just like this… see it now? No? Darn. Oh well, I can’t quite see it either. But I’d assume that’s why it’s named Carburetor.

Meh, who knows. What do I know about cars and engines and such? (The correct answer is, nothing.) It is, however, a delicious roll and very pretty to look at! I got the idea for this roll from the Tex Wasabi’s menu.

Who is Emily? In kindergarten, I had a friend named Emily who had the most beautiful long hair. She was astonished that I walked to and from school every day instead of driving. After kindergarten, she moved away. This is not that Emily.

In elementary school, my mother used to baby sit my classmate Cathy’s family before and after school. She had a very young sister named Emily, who was just a baby at the time. It’s amazing to look at pictures now and see how much she’s grown up since then – sometimes people just don’t age in my mind if I don’t see them often. This is not that Emily.

In middle school, there was a girl named Emily who was in G.A.T.E. with me. She was a year older than me, and was always so nice. She started dating a guy who I used to have a little crush on who was also a year older than me. Ten years later, they are still an adorable couple. This is not that Emily.

When I went to Camp Summersault, a camp for young cancer patients and their siblings, my first counselor was Emily. I adored her. She was so much fun to be around, and she even came to see me perform in the Nutcracker and other ballets several times. This is not that Emily.

In fact, this roll is not named for any Emily I know. Rather, it is my take on a roll of the same name that is from the menu of Tex Wasabi’s, a Californian BBQ and sushi restaurant co-owned by Food Network star Guy Fieri.

Not only is the roll beautiful in presentation (it’s so colorful!), it is also delicious. It starts out rich and salty from the smoked salmon on the outside, and the tobiko that the sushi was rolled in pop in your mouth. Once you get to the center, it is smooth, creamy, and a little crunchy from the tempura. In other words, delicious, delicious, and more delicious.

Ingredients

• 6 sheets nori
• 3 cups sumeshi
• 12 pieces tempura shrimp
• 1/2 small avocado
• 1 cup imitation crab, shredded
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup tobiko
• 6 oz smoked salmon

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 the avocado in half, discarding the pit.
4. Cut off the hard skin and discard.
5. Slice the avocado into thin sticks.
6. Mix the mayonnaise and imitation crab.
7. When you lay the sumeshi on the nori, press tobiko into the rice before flipping it over.
8. Roll the sushi inside-out, using two pieces of tempura shrimp, a few sticks of avocado, and some imitation crab mix as your fillings.
9. Cover the roll with smoked salmon, and use the rolling mat to press it onto the roll.

I can’t start my day without breakfast. I get cranky, and lightheaded, and, well, it’s not a pretty picture. For me, breakfast is undoubtedly the most important meal of the day (unlike some other people, who refuse to eat breakfast!) So, since certain people refuse to believe my diet consists of anything other than sushi, it makes sense for me to come up with a breakfast sushi.

Because… um… this is what I eat for breakfast every morning. Riiiiight. (Heck, if I had the time and energy in the morning to make this, I would eat this for breakfast every morning!)

Bacon, tamago, and green onion. All perfect in sushi. But it needed something else, something to make it truly a breakfast roll. Shoyu just didn’t do it for me, and maple syrup… way too sweet. Maybe, just maybe… yep, I know what you’re thinking, and yes. I did. A mixture of shoyu and maple syrup did this roll justice, and finished it off perfectly.

If you ever wanted sushi for breakfast? This is your roll.

Breakfast Roll

Ingredients

• 6 sheets nori
• 3 cups sumeshi
• 12 strips bacon
• 2 batches tamago
• 6 stalks green onion
• 1 tbsp shoyu
• 1 tbsp maple syrup

Cooking Directions

1. Cook sushi rice.
2. Fry the bacon to the crispiness you prefer.
3. Make the tamago.
4. Wash the green onion, cut the long green stalks off of the white bulb-like things. Discard the white bulbs.
5. Mix the shoyu and maple syrup well.
6. Roll the sushi, using two strips of bacon, some tamago, and a stalk of green onion as your fillings.
7. Drizzle with the shoyu/syrup mix.

Son and I love Korean food. He is sure to get the hot tofu soup (extra spicy!), and I never fail to get the bulgogi (BBQ beef). When the waiter comes out with a burning hot plate, the beef is smoking and onions are still sizzling. You can see the sugars in the onions caramelizing, and smell the smoky-sweetness of the beef. The silky sweet onions are the perfect contrast to the flavorful, chewy beef.

Since I love bulgogi so much, the natural choice (for me at least) would be to put it in a sushi roll. The rice cuts through the richness of the bulgogi and the onions, and balances it wonderfully. Sure, it takes a bit of time to make, but even without rolling it in sushi, the bulgogi is well worth the time spent.

This bulgogi recipe is from My Korean Kitchen.

Bulgogi Roll

Ingredients

• 6 sheets nori
• 3 cups sumeshi
• 6 tbsp shoyu
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1/2 onion, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium red apple, grated
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 lbs sirloin, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 carrot, julienned
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Cooking Directions

1. Mix the shoyu, brown sugar, mirin, grated onion, garlic, apple, ginger, and black pepper in a large bowl. Mix in the sliced meat, then the sesame oil. Cover with plastic wrap, and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
2. Cook sushi rice.
3. Preheat a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add the cooking oil.
4. Add the meat and vegetables. Cook, stirring occassionally, for 3 to 5 mins or until the meat starts to brown.
5. When the meat is nearly cooked, mix in the sesame seeds.
6. Roll the sushi, using several pieces of bulgogi and onion as your fillings.