First, sushi does not mean “raw fish.” It may contain cooked fish, or no fish at all. Just wanted to put that out there in case you were about to move on too quickly. Now, let’s get cooking.
First cook up the rice;
3 cups Japanese rice
3 1/4 cups water
It will take about 18-20 minutes to cook over a low flame. While it’s cooking prepare the vinegar mix:
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Stir in a pan over a low flame until the sugar is dissolved, then cool the liquid. Once rice is cooked stir it in a big wooden bowl, being careful not to damage the rice grains, along with the vinegar mix.
Now, spread some rice on a sheet of nori (Japanese Seaweed) placed on a bamboo mat. The seaweed is about 9 inches across. Here we have fake crab legs (surimi) along with cucumber and avocado. Rolling the sushi and cutting it takes a bit of practice, but it’s fun and you can use whatever ingredients you like, the only limit is your imagination.
This is what the California roll looked like after it was cut up.
Next, we made shrimp tempura maki, see last month’s recipe for the tempura. We really like this one and it’s great to make a restaurant quality Asian dish in your own house.
Both kinds of sushi are served with pickled ginger. If you don’t live near an Asian grocer, you may find these ingredients in a foreign foods aisle in your local supermarket or you can order by mail. It turns out to be quite fun once you get the hang of it and far less costly that going out to a restaurant for sushi. Let us know if you try this dish and liked it!
