Sushi- First Attempt

Sushi- it seemed alltogether daunting from the outset. But I have seen J & F do it a few times, so I figured I'd give it a go. It was inspired by this beautiful weather, and I was hoping to make this into a picnic lunch.

First, assemble the necessary ingredients:

Pictured I have here:

rice (soaking)

nori, seaweed sheets

bamboo rolling mat

rice wine vinegar

pickled ginger strips

black sesame seeds

wasabe paste

assorted vegetables: jullienned carrots, bok choy cabbage, avocado, cucumber

Really, the only thing you need to pay attention to is getting the rice right. But since the main thing with the rice is the rinse and soak, it really isn't that hard. I made rice with 2 cups of uncooked rice, and 2.5 cups water. This was already too much for little ole me, because it rendered enough for 4-5 rolls.

Start with your rice in a collander and bowl. Cover the rice with water and swirl a few times, get your hands in there and mix it around, don't be afraid to get those hands wet! Drain the water from the rice and repeat the process. Finally towards the end I just put the collander full of rice under the faucet and let it run. Repeat washing and rinsing until the water exiting is clear and not foggy anymore.

Then, soak the rice fully covered in water for at least a half an hour.

Cook the rice in a 1:1.2 ratio, or really not much more water than there is rice. Like other rices, you let the water boil first, add the rice, bring back to a boil for a moment and turn down the heat to low and cover. This kind of rice only takes about 20 minutes to cook. Remove from heat and set aside with the lid still on top to 'steam' further.

Rice Vinegar

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 tbs white sugar

1 tsp salt

Heat the vinegar ingredients on the stove top just long enough for the salt and sugar to dissolve. Remove from heat and let vinegar cool.

Mix the vinegar into the rice, gently not to break too much rice, and let all cool.

Now you're ready to begin.

Start by placing the rough side of the nori face up on the bamboo mat

With wet hands, place a large mound (a little more than a handful) on top of the middle of the nori. Spread evenly over the nori (this is easier with wet hands). Start with less than you need, because adding more rice is easier than taking rice away.

Leave an inch or so without rice at the end so you can close the roll properly.

Add the other ingredients, such as fish if you have some top quality fresh fish, or in my case the vegeteables and crab sticks.

Roll tightly with the bamboo mat until closed. Cut with a sharp knife, and serve with soy sauce, ginger and wasabi. Enjoy!

To make the inside-out roll is a bit trickier. You must first cover your bamboo mat in plastic wrap, seed lightly with sesame seeds, and roll out the rice on top of that, about the same dimensions as the nori sheets. Cut one nori sheet in half, place the fillings on top of the nori sheet and roll tightly.