Homemade Sushi for Beginners!

Hey everybody! The meals last week needed to be moved around a little bit since Alex ended up working so many late nights (which is ok to do as long as you are flexible and figure out which meals work for when and what ingredients will last the longest!) so we ended up having gyoza and sushi for dinner tonight :)

The gyoza were delicious! I added shrimp to the recipe that I posted for last week but I think when I make them next time, I would add more shrimp and take out the mushrooms... it will make for a much smoother, softer filling which is more appealing to me:) I added a picture to the menu post, so if you are curious to see how they turn out you can find it there!

As for the sushi, this is not my first time making sushi but I would say (after some burned rice) it was my most successful--and tasted quite a bit like the sushi you pay much more money for!

Now when I say I made sushi, I mean I either made California, Spicy California, American Dream, or any kind of veggie roll. I do not eat raw fish, so my kind of sushi is very safe--yet very, very, very delicious. And easy!

What you will need are:
- Sushi rice (I found my last bag at Walmart, and after trying to cook it the traditional way--the rice is still stuck to the bottom of my favorite pot-- I learned that this bag is so much simpler! No rinsing, soaking, draining, medium cooking, high cooking, low cooking, steaming, and steaming with a towel... just boil, simmer, sit.)
- Nori wraps (Toasted, dried seaweed papers)
- Seasoning for the rice (1 Tbl rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt)
- Fillings: Avocado, Cucumber, Crab for a California roll-- we'll stick with these for today.
- Bamboo sushi mat and paddle- I found mine at the outlet near by house at a cooking shop

Seven Simple Steps to Scrumptious Sushi
1. Prepare Sushi rice according to package directions. While the rice is cooking, prepare your filling ingredients. Cut everything small enough to roll into a small sushi roll... smaller is better.

2. "Season" sushi rice with the rice wine vinegar mixture from above and mix to cool. It looks really cool when you watch actual Sushi Masters make and season their sushi rice. They make it in huge, wooden bowls and splash the vinegar mixture all over the rice with their bamboo paddle as they shift and fold and flip the rice all over.

3. Lay your bamboo sushi mat on the counter with the slats going horizontal to your body. Place a nori wrap on the mat--shiny side up. Wet your fingers and spread the sticky rice on the front half of the sheet. You only need about a 1/4 inch thickness--any more than this and it will squish out the ends when you roll the sushi.

4. Next you will want to place a few pieces of each ingredient at the end of the rice closest to you. If you are making a California roll, you will want one small slice of ripe avocado, a few matchstick pieces of cucumber and a small amount of crab. (Avocado and Cucumber rolls are also fantastic!)

5. Pick of the end of the bamboo mat closest to you and, very carefully--keeping all the filling tight to the rice with your finger tips-- fold into a roll. Firmly squeeze the bamboo mat to secure the roll together.

6. Remove roll from mat and cut away any excess nori wrap. With a very sharp knife, cut the roll into equal pieces about an inch wide-- clean the knife in between each cut. It is also most effective to do just one sawing motion from front to back to front as you gently push the knife through the roll.

7. Last step is to arrange the rolls onto your plate or platter in an attractive way! If you have ever been to a sushi restaurant, you have an idea of the works of art those sushi masters send to your table. You can be as creative as you want. :)

Serve with wasabi and reduced-sodium soy sauce.

And don't be surprised if your kitchen ends up looking like a bomb went off. Like I said in my first post, I do not believe that actual cooking looks at beautiful and graceful as they make it look on t.v. Your children are pulling ingredients of the counters. You are tripping over bears or frogs or dog chews. The rice had burned and the pan is soaking in the sink while you try and attempt another batch. Every usable inch of counter space has been used and you just start stacking things on top of each other.



What is most important is that you have fun. And that, the majority of the time, what comes out of the kitchen is delicious and satisfying and brings joy to you and your family.