HOMEMADE SUSHI

3:44 PM

I remember the first time I tried sushi... I was in eight-grade and my best friend brought some sushi for lunch. I had heard of people the weird notion of people eating raw fish wrapped in rice and seaweed, and me being adventurous said why not when she offered. Next thing I was running to the trash can and vowed to never try sushi again... 10 years later, I could eat sushi everyday if I could afford it.

Sushi isn't extremely expensive but it isn't cheap either, but I believe it's okay to pay a little extra for proper preparation of raw fish. Especially since this semester, I'm taking microbiology and learning about how improper food preparation can invite little microorganisms into body! So this is post is for two classic COOKED sushi recipes : the California roll and the Philadelphia roll!

These recipes are simple and cheap enough to make at home!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Bamboo Sushi Roll mat and Saran Plastic Wrap
Nori seaweed sheets
Sushi rice (or any short or medium grain rice)
Rice Vinegar
Avocado
Cucumber
Cream Cheese
Smoked Salmon (Philadelphia Roll)
Imitation Crab Meat (California Roll)
Sugar (for making the sushi rice)

SUSHI RICE RECIPE:

A lot of people have trouble cooking rice, a friend says the true measure of a good cook is the ability to properly prepare rice. Sushi rice isn't too different from regular rice preparation.

WASH your rice: the most important step in making sushi rice is to remove most of the starch from the rice so the rice can have its sticky texture. To do this you need to add water to the rice and use your hands to massage the rice until the water turns cloudy. Then rinse. Repeat this until the water is mostly clear.
Mix 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of water into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil.
Turn off your burner and cover the top with a dish towel and place the lid on to trap in the steam.
Leave lid on for 10 mintues (it's important that you don't lift the lid to check the rice)
PREPARE your sushi vinegar while the rice is cooking. Mix 1/2 cup of rice vinegar, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt together in a plastic container (metal removes the flavor of the vinegar) in a saucepan on low heat just until the sugar dissolves.
When rice is done, pour in rice vinegar and mix with cutting or chopping motion for 5 minutes to cool. And now you're ready to make some sushi!

CALIFORNIA ROLL

Cover cooled sushi rice with a dish cloth while preparing ingedrients.
Cover Sushi Bamboo mat with plastic wrap to prevent sushi rice from sticking
Peel an avocado and cut into strips
Place a half sheet of the Nori sheet on the Sushi Bamboo mat smooth side down
WET hands and apply and spread sushi rice on the seaweed sheet (you can add sesame seeds to garnish at this step if you like)
Flip over rice and seaweed sheet
Place Crab Meat and Avocado vertically to the smooth side of the Nori sheet
Roll the sheet by flipping over the bamboo mat
With a sharp and MOIST knife, cut the roll into 6 pieces starting from the middle
Serve with Soy Sauce and Wasabi

PHILADELPHIA ROLL

Cover cooled sushi rice with a dish cloth while preparing ingedrients.
Cover Sushi Bamboo mat with plastic wrap to prevent sushi rice from sticking
Cut Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon into strips
Place a half sheet of the Nori sheet on the Sushi Bamboo mat smooth side down
WET hands and apply and spread sushi rice on the seaweed sheet (you can add sesame seeds to garnish at this step if you like)
Flip over rice and seaweed sheet
Place Smoked Salmon and Cream vertically to the smooth side of the Nori sheet
Roll the sheet by flipping over the bamboo mat
With a sharp and MOIST knife, cut the roll into 6 pieces starting from the middle
Serve with Soy Sauce and Wasabi

In total, it cost about $20 for the ingredients, but most can be used again to make more sushi! Now that I know how to make quick and easy, cheap sushi at home, you won't catch me buying $8 rolls for a while (unless of course, they're raw!)