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Archive for the ‘sushi’ Category

Ikea Inspired Sushi

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

If you have ever strolled through the Ikea Food Market, you’ve probably seen this stuff popping out at you from the refrigerator. It’s a mixture of smoked cod roe, potato flakes, oil, salt, sugar and a few preservatives. It’s usually squeezed on top of crisp-bread for a quick snack. I got to thinking that you should be able make easy sushi with this stuff as well. So I guess I will call this the Stockholm Roll, here goes…

1. Follow the instructions for making a sushi rice and get your roll ready for the fillings.

2. Add the creamed smoked roe

Add Smoked Roe

3. Add the other ingredients. In this version I used radish, cucumber and smoked roe. You can also just try smoked roe and cucumber as it is milder.

Add Radish and Cucumber

4. Roll it up.

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Easy Thin Roll – Cucumber and Avocado Roll

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

Sushi rolls are normally created with the nori on the outside of the roll. There are two basic types, futomaki (thick) roll and hosomaki (thin) roll. Futomaki are made using a whole sheet of nori and hosomaki are made using 1/2 sheet. Making thin rolls can be a challenge with 1/2 sheet of nori. If the rice is spread too thick or you’ve put down too much filling, it can get too thick. The final product often will often fall apart. If you are new to making sushi, you can try this method to get warmed up. In this recipe, a full sheet is used, so there is a little extra nori wrapped up within the sushi roll. However, it stays together well, and is a good way to practice rolling traditional sushi rolls.

Recipe:

1. Cook and prepare sushi rice. Cut cucumbers.

2. Place full shett of nori, rough side up, on sushi mat. Moisten hands and grab a small handful of sushi rice. Press it down to form an long ellispe and place rice on nori.

3. Spread rice evenly over sheet of nori. Place the filling just below the center of the rice. In this case, cucumber and advocado.

4. Use both hands to press the filling in while rolling the sushi mat. Cover the roll with the mat and press down slightly to help shape the sushi roll. Cut in half and then cut each half into thirds (you’ll have 6 pieces when finished). Garnish with pickled ginger and wasabi and enjoy

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Uramaki – Inside-Out California Roll

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Here’s the recipe for making a California roll – probably the most popular inside-out roll in America.

1. Prepare and cook sushi rice. Gather up all of your ingredients: nori, sliced cucumber, avocado and crab mix. For the crab mix, the easiest way to prepare this is to buy some high-quality canned crab, rinse and drain well, and then mix with mayonnaise.

2. Tightly wrap your makisu (bamboo) mat with food film wrap and then place half sheet of nori, rough side up, on your bamboo mat. Wet hands and place a small handful of rice on mat as shown. You can also do this directly on the cutting board if you prefer.

3. Spread rice evenly across nori.

4. Turn over so rice side is now facing down. It may help to slightly moisten your mat to prevent the rice from sticking. Place cucumber, avocado and crab mix on nori, about 1/3 up from the edge of the nori (nearest the table).

4. Press in the filling while rolling the mat. Do this with two hands.

5. Cover the roll with the mat and press down slightly to help shape the sushi roll. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cut in half and then cut each half into thirds (you’ll have 6 pieces when finished). Garnish with pickled ginger and wasabi and enjoy.

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Making Sushi Rice Part 2

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Ok, the rice has been washed and is done cooking and now it’s time make sumeshi – or vinegared rice. Remove the lid from the rice cooker and test a small amount of rice. If it seems too hard, let it sit in the rice cooker a few more minutes.

A wooden sushi-oke and a shamoji are the basic tools used to mix the cooked rice with your sushi vinegar. A sushi-oke is made of cypress wood and helps absorb excess moisture. However, this is not necessary. A large bowl and spoon will do the job.

1. If you are using a wooden sushi-oke, fill it up with water and let it sit for about 30 minutes, and then drain.

2. Empty your rice into your bowl or sushi-oke.

3. Pour the sushi vinegar slowly and evenly over the rice. If you are cooking 3 cups of sushi rice, add 1/4 cup of the sushi vinegar. Warm the sushi vinegar in the microwave before using.

4. Cut the rice. At this point, you want to spread the rice around with a cutting motion to help cool it down and break-up any clumps of rice. Do this several times from side to side of the sushi-oke while fanning the rice. Cooling the rice down quickly will give the rice a more polish look and will also help the rice absorb the sushi vinegar. Gather the rice to one side of your container, cover with a clean, damp cloth until it is cool enough to use (slightly wamer than room temperature).

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Sushi Vinegar

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

This is the basic ‘pickling’ solution for sushi rice. Recipes for sushi vinegar seem to vary widely with different amounts of rice, vinegar, sugar and salt. That means, there’s some wiggle room here. If your measurements are a little off – no worries. You can give your sushi vinegar a little more body and flavor by adding a small strip of konbu. Add the konbu while heating vinegar, sugar and salt (and discard before storing).

Ingredients
Rice Vinegar….. 1 cup
Sugar….3/4 cup
Salt…. 2 teaspoon

Directions
1. Combine vinegar, sugar and salt into a small sauce pan.
2. Heat on until sugar and salt are dissolved.
3. Remove from heat, cool and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Warm up before using.

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Making Sushi Rice Part 1

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Sushi rice is really just as easy to make as regular rice, but requires a little more attention. The most important part is adding the right amount of water. Too much water and the rice will be sticky, mushy and too hard to use. Too little water and your sushi will be hard and crunchy.

The standard amount of water to use is equal parts water and rice. So if you are cooking 2 cups of sushi rice, you’ll need two cups of water. Not too hard, right? Well, things like new crop rice vs old crop rice, temperature, humidity, etc., all seem to have an effect on your rice. Like everything, it may take a few times before you get optimal results.

1. Measure your rice and add into the pan of your rice cooker.

2. Add water to your rice and pour off the cloudy water. The idea is to do this several times until the water remains clear (in the next step).

3. “Wash” the rice by rubbing it around with your hand. Repeat this process: Add water, rub, pour off cloudy water and repeat (about 4 times).
4. Once the water stays clear, drain the water from the rice, and then add the final amount of water (2 cups water if cooking 2 cups of rice). Then let the rice stand for at least 30 minutes before cooking.