Sunday, June 13, 2004
Making Sushi 101
This is from something I posted on a messageboard in response to a guy's request for ideas for his girlfriend's 30th birthday ... I suggested making sushi:
You need seaweed paper, rice, rice vinegar, wasabi (powder or paste), sushi roller, soy sauce (in a little dish), and sushi grade fish. Optional ingredients are vegetables. I used avacados and cucumber and some plums.
First make the rice. Wash it with your hands and then put it in a rice cooker. I've only ever cooked rice with a rice cooker. Put the rice in a pan and fold in the rice vinegar (some people add some sea salt and sugar to the rice vinegar ... I recommend this and plan to use a dash of sake, too, next time). Use about one tablespoon of vinegar per cup of rice. As you fold the rice, cool it with a hand fan in your other hand. This is supposed to help remove the moisture and make it shiny. Save some vinegar for later.
DON'T USE INSTANT RICE OR BROWN RICE. If you're going to make sushi, get Japanese rice from an asian market. Chinese rice is too long and American rice just doesn't clump right.
Put down a sheet of seaweed onto the roller and put some rice on the seaweed. Leave about a half inch on two opposite sides because you have to join them together. Don't put too much rice on because you have to roll it. Here's another secret ... dip your hands in the vinegar before you touch the rice, as it is VERY sticky. Keep this in mind for later, as you won't look your best with sticky rice in your hair.
Put A LITTLE wasabi paste down the middle of the rice with your finger (goes where the fish will go). If you put too much, her 30th birthday will certainly be memorable but it will be due to the trip to the emergency room when she starts to heave. Lay the fish down parallel to the sides that have the half inch space. I suggest that you add some different vegetables to this, too.
With the "inside ingredients", I would make some with just salmon, some with salmon and cucumber, some with salmon and avacado, and some with salmon and plum and avacoda. Get creative.
Roll the sushi and try to get the edges to overlap. Wet them by dabbing your wet finger along them to get them to stick. If they don't stick, put a few pieces of rice on them and use them like sticky tape.
Slice each roll into 4 or 6 pieces.
If you think you can eat 12 pieces, make like 36, because you will fark many of them up. It's cool. Just make way more than you think you'll need and save the rest for later.
Now, you should have some decent sushi. Here's the most important part ... get some small plates and ARRANGE THEM ATTRACTIVELY on the plates. If you need 3 or 4 plates, that's fine! Leave lots of space in between each roll, and make sure you put a dab of wasabi on the plate so she can add extra wasabi to the soy sauce. I try to get a nice mix of rolls on each plate, and I don't bring out all the different kinds on the first plate.
The mechanics of making sushi are actually pretty simple. The art comes in the right combination of fish and "other things". I actually hate fish and seaweed and sushi rice, but I LOVE making sushi.
You need seaweed paper, rice, rice vinegar, wasabi (powder or paste), sushi roller, soy sauce (in a little dish), and sushi grade fish. Optional ingredients are vegetables. I used avacados and cucumber and some plums.
First make the rice. Wash it with your hands and then put it in a rice cooker. I've only ever cooked rice with a rice cooker. Put the rice in a pan and fold in the rice vinegar (some people add some sea salt and sugar to the rice vinegar ... I recommend this and plan to use a dash of sake, too, next time). Use about one tablespoon of vinegar per cup of rice. As you fold the rice, cool it with a hand fan in your other hand. This is supposed to help remove the moisture and make it shiny. Save some vinegar for later.
DON'T USE INSTANT RICE OR BROWN RICE. If you're going to make sushi, get Japanese rice from an asian market. Chinese rice is too long and American rice just doesn't clump right.
Put down a sheet of seaweed onto the roller and put some rice on the seaweed. Leave about a half inch on two opposite sides because you have to join them together. Don't put too much rice on because you have to roll it. Here's another secret ... dip your hands in the vinegar before you touch the rice, as it is VERY sticky. Keep this in mind for later, as you won't look your best with sticky rice in your hair.
Put A LITTLE wasabi paste down the middle of the rice with your finger (goes where the fish will go). If you put too much, her 30th birthday will certainly be memorable but it will be due to the trip to the emergency room when she starts to heave. Lay the fish down parallel to the sides that have the half inch space. I suggest that you add some different vegetables to this, too.
With the "inside ingredients", I would make some with just salmon, some with salmon and cucumber, some with salmon and avacado, and some with salmon and plum and avacoda. Get creative.
Roll the sushi and try to get the edges to overlap. Wet them by dabbing your wet finger along them to get them to stick. If they don't stick, put a few pieces of rice on them and use them like sticky tape.
Slice each roll into 4 or 6 pieces.
If you think you can eat 12 pieces, make like 36, because you will fark many of them up. It's cool. Just make way more than you think you'll need and save the rest for later.
Now, you should have some decent sushi. Here's the most important part ... get some small plates and ARRANGE THEM ATTRACTIVELY on the plates. If you need 3 or 4 plates, that's fine! Leave lots of space in between each roll, and make sure you put a dab of wasabi on the plate so she can add extra wasabi to the soy sauce. I try to get a nice mix of rolls on each plate, and I don't bring out all the different kinds on the first plate.
The mechanics of making sushi are actually pretty simple. The art comes in the right combination of fish and "other things". I actually hate fish and seaweed and sushi rice, but I LOVE making sushi.
