I worked in a sushi restaurant for almost a year, and although I learned many tricks, it is through a little practice you will perfect it. I would like to share with you the simple side of sushi. All of the seafood is cooked. There is also a great website called Sushi Daddy, he simplifies the rolling process which many online videos seem to complicate. It is a one - two - three process when rolling. I suggest checking out his videos, they really helped me. :).
Ingredients:
Full Sheet Nori (dried seaweed)
~ you can find this online, or in your local Asian market.
Soy Paper
~ I buy this at the local Asian mart as well, but the produce line is also available online if you cannot find
it locally. Sushi Party
Imitation crab sticks
Cooked Shrimp
Cream Cheese
Cucumber
Avocado
Carrot
Mayonnaise
Sriracha
Sweet Chili Sauce
~you can purchase this at the local Asian market, or make from scratch from the recipe here
Pickled Ginger
Ponsu
Soy Sauce
Black Sesame Seeds ~ at the Asian market
Sesame Seeds ~ at your local grocery in the spice isle
Sushi Rice
Jasmine Rice (or sushi rice Nishiki you can find this is your grocery store, use jasmine rice as a substitute)
Sushi Rice Vinegar (Mitzokan or Kikkoman make a good version)
Sugar
Sea Salt
To give you an idea of the amount of sushi you can yield from very few ingredients here is a break down of what you need to make these six rolls:
Rice:
1 1/2 cups sushi rice
about a 1/4 cup sushi rice vinegar
about a tablespoon of sugar
about a two teaspoons of salt
Ingredients:
2 full size sheets of dried Nori ~ cut one in half
2 sheets of Soy Paper ~ cut one in half
1/2 a package of cream cheese
6 crab sticks (3 for making a spicy crab mix and 3 for placing in sushi roll)
1 cup cooked shrimp (1/2 for making a spicy shrimp mix and 1/2 for placing in rolls)
1/2 a medium cucumber - peeled, seeded, and cut medium julienne style
 |
| half rolls cut into pieces |
Directions for Rice:
- Prepare your rice. 1 part rice to 2 parts water. This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cup of rice, so add 3 cups of water, cover, and boil on a medium to low heat for approximately 20 minutes. The rice should be somewhat sticky, but you know you have overcooked it if the it resembles mush.
- Uncover the rice and fluff with a spatula to release some of the heat, this will help cool it faster.
- Let the rice cool for about 5 - 10 minutes (I sometimes put it in the freezer or refrigerator to speed up the process) After it cools a bit, add the rice vinegar, folding it in with a rubber spatula. Do not attempt to stir it. Stirring will break up the rice. Add sugar and salt to taste. Cover with plastic wrap, forming the wrap to mold to the rice as to not let any air inside, and moisture to escape.
Directions for ingredients:
- A picture says a thousand words.
- Cut all ingredients to look like the picture to the right.
- For carrots, I use a vegetable peeler and create thin slices.
- The cucumber is cut with mandolin.
- Avocado is cut in medium to thin slices.
- Crab stick is left whole.
- Cream cheese is cut first in 1/2 inch, then lay flat and cut that slice in half to create long cube shaped tubes.
Directions for rolls:
- For large rolls, use a full nori sheet.
- For small rolls, cut sheet in half.
California Roll:
- Cucumber, avocado, crab, carrot
California with a twist:
- Cucumber, avocado, crab, cream cheese
A good sushi roll is simple. So when mixing ingredients, remember simplicity.
Rolls with no names ;):
- Turmeric soy paper, cream cheese, cucumber, sweet chili sauce
- Sesame soy paper, spicy crab mix, avocado
- Nori, inside out style (rice on the outside), cream cheese, cucumber, avocado
I will post more pictures soon. For excellent rolling instructions please visit My Sushi Daddy he is and excellent teacher!
