Homemade Sushi

This past weekend, my mother came to visit us and one of her requests was that we make sushi for her. Now, Amy and myself are by no means experts nor an authority on sushi, nor even skilled enough to do anything fancy such as maki rolls, but we feel fairly competent with the basic California Roll or some fun experiments using imitation crab or softened sweet potatoes. We haven't tried using raw fish yet, though we have extremely fresh fish readily available in Norfolk. Maybe we'll get some from the farmer's market next time we feel like making it.

But I digress...



Sushi is really very easy if you have the right tools and access to a decent Asian food store or a grocery store with a decent Asian food section. The norfolk NEX Commissary is one such place, probably due to the fair amount of Asians in the Navy and the trend of sailors marrying Japanese women and so forth. I digress again...

All you really need to make decent sushi at home is:
a sushi mat (I prefer bamboo)
a very sharp, serrated knife
Rice paddle
short grain white/brown rice (similar to risotto rice)
Rice vinegar
Aji-Mirin (a sweet rice seasoning)
sugar (I suggest organic)
Sushi Nori (the seaweed stuff you wrap it in)
pickled ginger and wasabi
Tamari or soy sauce
and your choice of filling ingredients

First cook the rice as specified on the bag, box, or whatever container your rice comes in.
Add about 1/3 cup rice vinegar and Aji-Mirin, as well as 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt for every 2 cups uncooked rice.
Let this mixture cool to room-temperature in a bowl with a towel over top. DO NOT REFRIGERATE!

While it cools, cut your filling ingredients into long, narrow strips. We like to use cucumber, avocado, imitation crab (or even real lump crab if we can find it cheap enough), carrots (use a peeler to make flat strips), and steamed sweet potato (cut into strips before steaming).

Once the rice has cooled, lay out a piece of nori on your sushi mat and use the rice paddle to spread the rice into a thinnish layer across about 3/4 of the nori from the bottom to the top. Lay the veggies and crab on top of the rice at the bottom of the roll, making sure not to put more than about two or three rows of each ingredient. Wet the top of the nori where you didn't put rice.
This next part comes only with practice and jacking up your first few rolls. Roll the mat from the bottom to the top tightly, making sure you don't roll the mat into the roll itself. Once you have tightly rolled it all to the top, seal the wetted edge to the rest of it like a big tasty rice-filled joint (but don't twist the ends). Wrap the mat around the roll and pull on the other end of the mat to tighten your roll up even more.

The rolls should now be ready for cutting. Use that extra sharp serrated knife you have and cut the roll into 1-inch thick slices. Don't worry if the insides work their way out on the ends, it's nearly unavoidable and it honestly makes for a prettier presentation. Arrange on a plate with a squeeze of wasabi and pickled ginger on the side. We have these really cool square Japanese platters and a saki set, so we use those platters for the sushi and the saki cups for soy sauce.

I will post more pics the next time we make sushi and re-top this post.